Chevron Expends $1bn Annually On Content Development, Contract Opportunities In Nigeria
Sylvester Idowu in Warri
American oil giant, Chevron Nigerian Limited (CNL) said it spent over $1 billion annually to support local content development and contract opportunities across all its projects in the country.
CNL’s General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Mr Olusoga Oduselu, made the disclosure on Thursday during a one-day Media Capacity Training for members of the Warri Correspondent’s Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists.
At the event held at Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun in Uvwie Local Government area of Delta State and sponsored by CNL, Oduselu also maintained that Chevron has made remarkable progress in lowering carbon emissions and reducing gas flare in the country.
The General Manager, who was represented by Chevron’s Communication Representative, Praise Saheed Akinbola, noted that the firm is committed to making investments that deliver transformative returns, especially in its areas of operations.
“CNL seems to make human investments that deliver long-term transformative returns. This is achieved through our Nigerian Content development activities. In Nigeria, Chevron supports Nigerian Content development by employing Nigerians, and contract opportunities in all our projects up to an estimated annual average over $1 billion.
“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 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”, he said.
Oduselu said currently, CNL is working with relevant government and community stakeholders to transit to the Host Community Development Trusts under the Petroleum Industry Act adding “Also, through Chevron’s Foundation and Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), we are impacting hundreds of lives in the Niger Delta and supporting economic empowerment in the region.”
On gas emission, he said Chevron is the highest contributor of high-quality domestic gas in the country since 2015 noting that with CNL’s investments in gathering and processing associated gas, “routine flaring has been significantly reduced in the past 10 years in CNL’s operations. We are committed to lowering carbon emission and reducing gas flaring in Nigeria.”
Chevron’s spokesman commended Nigerian journalists and the media for supporting the efforts of the company in its vision of becoming a global energy company most admired for “its People, Partnership and Performance.”
He further disclosed that Chevron through its support for the Nigerian media has supported the training of over 300 journalists across the country.
“We continue to partner with the media for the development of the society. That’s why CNL sponsored the Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (AWARES) programme in collaboration with the Pan Atlantic University, Lagos. Over 120 journalists have benefitted from the programme since its Inception in 2014.
“We have progressed the efforts in our media capacity building for journalists this year by training additional 90 journalists drawn from NUJ Lagos, Abuja and Warri in Delta State. By the end of this year, this initiative would have benefitted over 180 media practitioners bringing the total to over 300 journalists who have participated in the CNL-sponsored capacity building programmes”, he added.
Chairman of NUJ Warri Chapel, Mr. Victor Okpomor, in his opening remarks, thanked Chevron Nigeria Limited for sponsoring the training, adding that knowledge gained from the workshop would help in quality reportage of the oil and gas in the region.
He assured that media practitioners in the region will continue to collaborate with IOCs, particularly Chevron, in the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
In separate lectures, the Vice Chancellor of Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE) Effurun, Prof. Akpofure Rim-Rukeh; Associate Prof. Majority Oji and Dr. (Mrs.) F. O. Atubi, of the Delta State University (DELSU) Abraka, charged journalists to be objective in their reportage to deepen the development of oil bearing communities in the Niger Delta.
They also charged media practitioners to hold community leadership and IOCs accountable for the development of the region through reportage of their activities.
