Last updated on December 19th, 2023 at 12:39 pm
Known as the “food basket of the nation” because of its rich agricultural produce, Benue notwithstanding is also blessed with over 10 solid mineral resources spread across each of the 23 local government areas of the state.
Most of the mineral resources in Benue are under-exploited, it focuses more on farming on a large scale. Of all the 13 solid mineral resources that are found in Benue, limestone and Kaolinite are the most exploited at a commercial level.
Limestone can be found Tse-Kucha near Gboko while Kaolinite can be found at Otukpo.
The mineral deposits in Benue State are:
- Barite
- Iron –ore
- Wolframite
- Limestone
- Marble
- Lead/Zinc
- Gypsum
- Feldspar
- Mineral Salt
- Kaolinite
- Clay
- Gemstone
- Coal
Does Benue state have crude oil?
The ‘first’ discovery of crude oil in Benue state was made in December 7, 2016, after the administrator of Apa council area Danjuma Solomon told the then Deputy Governor.
He also said there was oil seepage in the council area and also found there were oil wells drilled by Chevron Nigeria Limited in the 1960s.
Subsequently, the state urged the government of Muhammadu Buhari at the time to intensify the search, though Buhari had in August 2016 directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to search for oil in the food basket of the nation.
By November 20, 2020, the NNPC officially disclosed that it had discovered crude oil in the Benue Trough at the opening of the 38th Annual International Conference and Exhibition of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE).
So, YES, Benue State has crude oil. However, the state is yet to be officially listed in the League of oil-producing states in Nigeria.
The official listing of the state as oil-producing qualifies it to get derivation revenue from the Federal Government.
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