A $1 billion bitumen exploration project announced for Ondo State in May 2024 has shown no verifiable progress more than two years after, even as the Federal Government has opened designated bitumen blocks to competitive bidding and local communities continue to demand consultation on environmental and land-use concerns.

The project, proposed by Owena Bitumen Exploration Nigeria Limited and led by Chairman, Alhaji Musa Ibrahim Mantu, was unveiled during a courtesy visit to Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa on May 30, 2024.

Mantu said at the time that the company had secured approximately $1 billion in financing from Europe and planned to deploy advanced bitumen technology with partners from Italy and France within 12 months. The delegation included expatriates specializing in mining, refining, and processing.

The company stated that a processing plant was already under construction in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, and projected it would become the largest of its kind in the world.

Governor Aiyedatiwa received the delegation, expressing optimism about employment creation and local economic stimulation, and noted that the refinery’s location was “just a short drive from Ondo State."

Searches for project updates in 2025 and 2026 return no new information about Owena Bitumen’s activities. There is no publicly available evidence that the $1 billion in financing has been drawn down, that the Ijebu Ode plant has progressed beyond the “under construction” claim made in 2024, that any bitumen has been extracted or processed, or that a Final Investment Decision has been taken.

Environmental Impact Assessments for the project have also not been publicly confirmed as completed or approved.

The lack of progress on the Owena Bitumen project comes as the Federal Government has restructured the development of Nigeria’s bitumen resources.

Minister of Solid Minerals Development Dr. Dele Alake announced in September 2026 that designated bitumen blocks had been opened to competitive bidding by qualified investors, clarifying that mineral resources are vested in the Federal Government under the 1999 Constitution and relevant mining laws.

The Senate also passed a bill in July 2025 to establish the Bitumen Development Commission of Nigeria, sponsored by Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, to provide a legal framework for research, investment, exploration, and production of locally sourced bitumen.

The decision to site the processing plant in Ogun State rather than in Ondo, where the bitumen is being explored, sparked significant backlash in 2024. Olujimi Adekanle, writing from Toronto, Canada, and identifying with the Ikale community, published an opinion piece titled “Why Aiyedatiwa must not allow Bitumen Scam Again,” arguing that transporting bitumen—a heavy mineral—to a processing plant in another state would be impractical and require rail transportation.

Adekanle alleged that the company “just came on a white elephant project visitation” and described them as “scammers that wanted to use our Bitumen to dupe the unsuspecting investors.” He also raised a critical procedural concern: the company met with the Governor but had not consulted the inhabitants of the area who would be displaced from their ancestral habitat. He emphasized that “no company will explore our black gold without the echelon of an Ikale blood” and warned of “stiff resistance from Ikale people” if the project proceeded without community involvement.

A 2026 study by Naturenews highlighted that local communities in Ondo State experience persistent socioeconomic marginalization and environmental degradation, with little benefit from bitumen exploration. The study noted that uncontrolled bitumen seepage has led to soil contamination, reduced agricultural productivity, and heavy metal concentrations exceeding national safety thresholds.

The Owena Bitumen project follows a pattern in Nigeria’s bitumen sector. Previous promises of bitumen exploration in Ikaleland under the Obasanjo, Mimiko, and Akeredolu administrations also failed to materialize.

Governor Aiyedatiwa himself acknowledged in March 2026 that Ondo “has not touched bitumen exploration,” though he said two companies were currently exploring with licences owned by the state government.

For now, the Owena Bitumen project remains an announcement, not a confirmed investment. The concerns raised by the Ikale community about the plant’s location and the lack of consultation remain unaddressed and are central to the project’s credibility.