Description

Bitumen is a mixture of organic liquids that are highly viscous, black, sticky, entirely soluble in carbon disulfide, and composed primarily of highly condensed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Naturally occurring or crude bitumen is a sticky, tar-like form of petroleum which is so thick and heavy that it must be heated or diluted before it will flow. At room temperature, it has a consistency much like cold molasses. Refined bitumen is the residual (bottom) fraction obtained by fractional distillation of crude oil. It is the heaviest fraction and the one with the highest boiling point, boiling at 525 °C (977 °F). It can also be refined to produce commercial products such as gasoline, fuel oil and asphalt.

The Nigerian bitumen deposit put at 42.74 billion metric tons is the second largest in the world and was first discovered in 1900. It covers 120 kilometres costal belts of Lagos, Ogun, Ondo and Edo States.

The occurrence of Bitumen deposits in Nigeria is twice the amount of existing reserves of crude petroleum. When fully developed, the industry will no doubt meet local requirements for road construction and also become a foreign exchange earner for the country.

Presently, Nigeria, which has 59,892 km of paved roads with an additional 1,194 km of dual carriageway, the longest in Africa, spends an estimated N 2,000,000,000 (two billion naira) annually on importation of asphalt, a bitumen derivative.

In the year 2016-2019 the federal government of Nigeria has promised many Nigerians both at home and in Diaspora of their plans to embark on lots of road construction projects with a lot of emphasis on the south east, south west and south-south.

This report examines the financial viability of importing five thousand (5,000) tons of bitumen monthly, storing and marketing same in the local market.