Solid Mineral
There has been no important solid mineral discovered so far in the local government area. However, a high grade silica glass sand is abundant on the beaches, coastal plain areas and in the river beds. It could be used as the major raw material for the manufacture of various glass products, like glass bottles, glass sheet, drinking glasses, mirrors, laboratory glassware and optical lenses. It is also useful in the moulding of cement blocks and the production of concrete and in foundry, abrasive, oil and gas industries.
There are also clay deposits in the area, although it has not yet been confirmed whether the deposits are in commercial quantities to support a ceramic industry. The deposits found in the Ikot Etenge Ete and Iman have been used in the traditional pottery industries.
Crude Oil and Natural Gas
Ikot Abasi Local Government is a major oil producing area, having both on-shore and off-shore fields. It also has a large gas deposit. The only on-shore production in the state is Utapate field near Iko, which used to produce up to 10,000 barrels per day. It is owned by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Pic. Two companies, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited and Elf, are involved in off-shore production in the local government area territorial waters. A rough breakdown of the oil production in the area is as given below:
TABLE 1: OIL PRODUCTION IN IKOT ABASI AREA
| Field | Production level (bpd) | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Utapate (on-shore) | 10,000 | SPDC |
| Adua (off-shore) | 10,600 | Mobil |
| Asabo (off-shore) | 28,150 | Mobil |
| Ekpe (off-shore) | 9,250 | Mobil |
| Ekpe WW | 7,530 | Mobil |
| Usari | - | Elf |
| Obu | - | Elf |
| Edikan | 16,856 | Elf |
| Odudu | 15,660 | Elf |
| Ime | 4,890 | Elf |
| Afia | 21,468 | Elf |