Special Duties, Oil and Gas

INTRODUCTION

The Ministry of Special Duties, Oil and Gas was established on the 23rd of January, 2009 by the pronouncement of The State Governor during the swearing in of newly appointed Honourable Commissioners. The pronouncement was ratified by the State Executive Council at its 12th meeting vide GC (2009).

The Ministry is presently made up of 26 permanent staff, 40 participants of the Youth Employment Scheme and 5 staff deployed from ICT office.

The Ministry is charged among others with the responsibility of preparing an inventory of Solid Minerals in the State, identifying Quarries/Borrow Pits, Collection of Haulage Fees/Road Taxes from tippers, lorries, trailers hauling Solid Minerals from Quarries and Borrow Pits located in Edo State to various destination in and outside the State and participating in major International Trade Fairs, Investment Forum and Seminars to present or showcase the State’s Solid Mineral resources to interested investors, development of Oil and Gas investments in the State, especially relationship with multinational companies, supervision of the Edo State Oil & Gas Producing Areas and liaising with the relevant Federal Government authorities on the control and effective methods of tackling the problems of coastal erosion, oil and gas pollution, spillages and other environmental problems in the State. The Ministry is also charged with the responsibility of enlightening the Communities in the Oil and Gas producing areas of the State on the functions, policies and activities of the Ministry, promoting good Community Relations in the oil & gas producing areas and liaising with the Companies operating in the Oil and Gas Producing Areas of the State to ensure that they meet their social responsibilities to the host communities.

For now there are three oil Producing Local Government Areas in Edo State. They are Orhionmwon, Ikpoba-Okha and Ovia North East. Some of the oil producing communities includes Oben, Iguelaba, Iyanomo-N’Iyekorhionmwon (formerly Abe), Ologbo, Gelegele, etc. A number of solid minerals economic value can be found at Akoko Edo, Etsako West, Etsako Central, Etsako East, Owan East, Owan West and Ovia North East Local Government Areas.

Functions:

Preparation of inventory of solid minerals in the state.

Liason with the Federal Government Committee (Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee) on Mineral Resources in the state.

Organization of Miners/Stakeholders Forum annually to provide ample opportunity for interaction between those involved in solid mineral activities with a view to informing the state Government of their problems.

Participation in major National and International Trade Fairs Investment Forum and Seminars to showcase the state’s solid mineral resources to interested investors.

Identification of quarries/burrow pits.

Collection of haulage fees/road taxes from quarries and burrow pits located in Edo State to various destination in and outside the state

DEPARTMENTS IN THE MINISTRY

The policies regulating extracts and mining are as stated in Part IV and Part V of chapter 1 titled” Minerals, Exploration, Mining and Quarrying” of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007.

The policies as they relate to establishing quarries/borrow pits are as stated in Part VI of chapter 1 of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007.

Presently, investors involved in solid mineral activities are those that have Mining Leases and Quarry Leases. The Mining and quarry leases are usually granted by the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development. The operators involved in the solid mineral activities are small, medium and large scale enterprises. They include Reynold Construction Company, Georgio Rock Limited, Harvey Limited, Setraco Nigeria Limited, Niger Construction Limited, Saydoun Limited and Woksons International Limited. There are some mineral processing companies in the state.

As a result of the vast mineral resources and a large percentage known to be of economic quantity, there are opportunities for investors in the areas of solid minerals in the state. The Ministry intends to participate annually in two major International Trade Fairs /investment Fora and seminars to present/showcase the state’s solid mineral resources to interested investors in 2011. In addition the Ministry will organize bi-ennial solid mineral exhibition/stakeholders forum.

The Ministry is determined to make Edo State a core mineral producing state by harnessing the available solid mineral and petroleum resources for the overall development of the state by facilitating the implementation of government policies in the areas of revenue generation from solid mineral.