Chevron invests $1bn annually in Nigeria’s local content development

A Multinational oil company, Chevron Nigeria Limited, has said it has supported the country’s local content development with a $1 billion annual investment.

Specifically, the company says it is creating avenues for Nigerians to be involved in its operations, both as employees and as contractors.

This is even as it revealed that it has reduced gas flaring by over 97 per cent in the past 10 years in its operations.

General Manager, Policy, Government, and Public Affairs of Chevron Nigeria Limited, Esimaje Brikinn, stated this in Abuja on Tuesday at a one-day media training on ‘Digital Tools as Opportunity in Promoting Good Governance’ for journalists in the nation’s capital.

According to the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, Nigeria’s oil companies wasted gas valued at over $1 billion between January 2022 and August 2023, resulting in a staggering financial loss of approximately N843 billion due to gas flaring.

Experts say gas flaring leads to environmental degradation and health impacts, which have further economic and social costs.

Represented by Manager, Communications, Chevron Nigeria Limited, Victor Anyaegbudike, Brikinn expressed the commitment of the company to lowering carbon emissions and reducing gas flaring in the country.

“We also contribute to the sustainable development of communities where we operate. The Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU), a community-led participatory partnership model for community engagement and sustainable development, was pioneered by CNL in 2005. Since the inception of the GMoU, CNL has contributed billions of naira to the Regional Development Committees (RDCs) that represent the communities in its area of operations to execute hundreds of projects in the communities through a governance model that ensures transparency and accountability. Currently, we are working with the relevant government and community stakeholders to transition to the Host Community Development Trusts under the Petroleum Industry Act. Also, through Chevron’s Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), we are impacting hundreds of lives in the Niger Delta and supporting economic empowerment in the region.

“Besides oil exploration and production, Chevron Nigeria Limited is the highest contributor of high-quality domestic gas in Nigeria since 2015. We are committed to lowering carbon emissions and reducing gas flaring in Nigeria. Through investments in gathering and processing of associated gas, routine flaring has been reduced by over 97% in the past 10 years in CNL’s operations.

“Chevron’s vision is to be the global energy company most admired for its People, Partnership, and Performance. We believe that energy is essential to modern life, and providing that energy is a profound responsibility. Our purpose is to develop the affordable, reliable, ever-cleaner energy that enables human progress around the world,” he stated.

While assuring that the capacity-building programme for reporters would be a continuous one, he said by the end of this year, over 300 Nigerian reporters would have benefited from it.