Bitumen exploitation to displace 30 communities

Thirty communities in south-western Nigeria will be displaced when the oil-rich West African country starts the exploration and exploitation of its bitumen deposits, a local government official in the area has said. Bitumen exploitation in Irele, Ondo State, is expected to begin as soon as the federal Ministry of Solid Minerals allocates blocks to investors. The chairman of the Irele local government, Oluremi Ayeomo, said recently that people in at least half of the satellite towns and villages in his district would be affected, especially peasant farmers who grow mainly cocoa, palm produce, kolanut and cassava. Nigeria has over 42 billion barrels of bitumen reserves in the south-western states of Lagos, Ondo, Edo and Ogun. Bitumen is used mostly to produce asphalt, but heavy crude oil can be processed from it.