technologies for processing of barite: a conceptual review for use in nigeria

Barite (baso4), an exceptional industrial mineral, has various applications based primarily on its physical properties. over 80% of the world’s barite is applied as a weighting agent in drilling fluids. nigeria has an estimated reserve of over 20 million metric tons of barite ore scattered in different parts of the country, yet its oil and gas companies (ioc) lose over ₦5 billion annually in foreign exchange by importing barite. presently, nigrria’s total national demand for barites is estimated at 10,000,000 tons per annum. the iocs import barite because the locally produced barite has lower quality than the imported barite. their argument is largely based on the fact that nigeria’s barite is often left unprocessed or processed using unconventional and ineffective techniques. thus, the barite fails to meet globally acceptable specifications and standards required for drilling operations and other industrial applications. the nigerian content development and monitoring board (ncdmb) has recently approved the implementation of a set of measures geared towards enforcing a ban on the use of imported barite and drilling fluids in the nigerian oil and gas industry. such measures are designed to bring nigeria’s barite to the required specifications and standards, increasing nigerian ioc patronage of nigeria’s barite. the authors reviewed the present state of barite processing in nigeria vis-à-vis globally acceptable processing techniques, with a view to applying them to nigeria’s barite.