Nigeria has a variety of both renewable and nonrenewable resources, some of which have not yet been effectively tapped. Solar energy, probably the most extensive of the underutilized renewable resources, is likely to remain untapped for some time.

Resources extraction

This is the most important sector of the economy. The most economically valuable minerals are crude oil, natural gas, coal, tin, and columbite (an iron-bearing mineral that accompanies tin). Petroleum, first discovered in 1956, is the most important source of government revenue and foreign exchange. Most of the oil output comes from onshore fields in the Niger delta, although an increasing proportion of the crude is produced at offshore locations. There are oil refineries at Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna. Nigeria has been a member of OPEC since 1971.

There are vast reserves of natural gas, but most of the gas produced is a by-product of crude oil. In the past this was burned off, as there was no market for it, but production has since increased, and Nigeria became a globally ranked exporter of this commodity. Production has often been interrupted by protests, as the inhabitants of the oil-producing regions have demanded a larger share of the revenues.

Nigeria possesses significant reserves of coal, but these deposits are being developed gradually. Coal is used by the railroad, by traditional metal industries, and by power plants to generate electricity. Coal mining, initially concentrated around the city of Enugu and its environs, began in 1915. It declined after the late 1950s with the discovery of oil but subsequently increased. Substantial coal reserves of varying quality can be found in south-central states in a band that stretches from Benin to Cameroon. Deposits discovered more recently in the southwestern part of the country at Lafia-Obi are being developed for the Ajaokuta steel complex.

The Jos Plateau, where tin mining began in 1905, also contains columbite. By the early 21st century, the country’s tin-smelting capacity had not been reached, a result of diminished world demand in the late 1980s; production of columbite has also declined since the mid-1970s. There are iron ore deposits in the Lokoja area, and limestone occurs in many areas, where it is widely exploited for manufacturing cement and for use in the steel industry. Extensive iron ore deposits found in Kwara state have been exploited since 1984. Other mined minerals include gypsum, kaolin, barite, gold, sapphires, topazes, and aquamarines. There are also uranium deposits in the country.

Contact Us at +2347052446249 for more information on our refining industry development services or visit our store at www.limult.com/shop to see more products that we make available for the people.

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:8.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:107%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}