By Babatunde Safiriyu
Nigeria would save no less than $300million annually from 2022, on the importation of barites, following the launch of its Made-in-Nigeria Barites, through the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development.
This is coming a fortnight after the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc Olamilekan Adegbite, had regretted the annual loss of this amount to importation, while highlighting the many benefits inherent local production.
Barite is one of the seven strategic minerals set to unlock the potentials of Nigeria’s solid minerals sector. It is a key material used in the oil and gas industry as a weighting agent to increase the density of drilling fluids, principally for oil and gas exploration in order to minimize the incidence of blowouts.
The launch was performed by the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, alongside the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc OlamilekanAdegbite, Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Uche Sampson Ogah.
There, the minister was quoted to have said that the development would end decades of importation of barites, affirming that the barites being launched met the API standards, which is the global specifications demanded by the oil industry. He noted that Nigeria was blessed with 47 solid minerals deposited across the country and barites was among the seven strategic minerals designated by the ministry for top priority development.
He further explained that this would increase revenue to Government through royalty payment and conserve foreign exchange spent previously in importing barites, adding that it would create jobs, especially in local communities where barites are mined and processed and earn Nigeria some foreign exchange when the mineral gets exported.
Engr. Waboteon his part submitted that the utilization of locally produced Barites and Drilling Fluids in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry was in line with the Federal Government’s commitments towards maximum optimization of local content and diversification of the Nigerian economy and would create huge value addition and opportunities to drive the sustainable and competitive growth of the Nigerian economy.
He assured that the Board will continue to collaborate and protect investors in the entire value chain of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry, stressing that first and exclusive consideration will always be given to locally produced goods and services in line with the provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.
The scribe recalled that the Board had issued a Guideline in May 2021 where it approved four firms for the supply of Barites required for any drilling project or contract in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, while also listing 10 other companies that would be upgraded to Category A NCEC, as soon as they meet the requirements of the Guideline for the Utilization of Locally Produced Barite and Drilling Fluids in Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry.
The minister also announced that the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development would set up a marketplace portal that would connect all stakeholders along the barites value chain to a hub that allows easy coordination, stocking, effective costing and seamless sale of barites, assuring the ministry would coordinate the process and ensure that appropriate revenues from the process are remitted to Government.
He thus charged the ministry and barite miners to focus on the improvement of the Health and Safety Practices at the Mines, Optimal Barite Production in volumes and to the required specification and availability of accurate geological data, emphasizing the need to address Host Community issues and Environmental Practices leading to land degradation, Provision of adequate infrastructure and logistics, Improved access to financing for equipment and working capital and Patronage and utilization of Nigerian barites by Oil and gas operators and service companies.
He stated that improvements in these areas will positively impact the sustainable development of the Nigerian Barite value chain.
Recent findings show that Nigeria has a reserve estimate of 21,123,919 MT of barite with Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba, Adamawa, Benue, Plateau, Cross River, Ebonyi and Gombe states having the major deposits.
