Chevron takes seriously its role as a member of the community in Nigeria and is active in many projects promoting health, economic development and education.
Chevron Nigeria Ltd. (CNL) provides communities near its operations with power and drinking water—in some cases, directly from company facilities. In some communities, we have purchased and installed electricity generators as well as provided for fueling and servicing the generators.
Responding to Needs of the Niger Delta
In 2011, Chevron announced we were joining the U.S. Agency for International Development in contributing $50 million to the Niger Delta Partnership Initiative (NDPI) Foundation, which Chevron established to address the socioeconomic challenges facing the area. Chevron's $25 million commitment is drawn from a $50 million endowment we created in 2010 to launch the NDPI Foundation.
Since 2005, Chevron has provided funding to the Niger Delta Development Commission, a government agency tasked with the responsibility of developing the Niger Delta.
In 2005, CNL adopted a new approach to community engagement in the Niger Delta to improve local participation in determining the needs our programs should address. This model, called the Global Memorandum of Understanding, gives the communities greater roles in the management of their development through newly created Regional Development Councils (RDCs). CNL signed the agreements with eight RDCs in the Niger Delta.
The objective is to bring peace, stability and reduced conflict to areas where Chevron operates. Together, the memorandums have generated approximately 200 projects in more than 400 communities, villages and chiefdoms and benefited some 600,000 community members. CNL supports the process by providing funding for governance, administration, and project and partner costs.
Local Nigerian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are essential to the process. NGOs are providing technical assistance and are helping to resolve conflicts that arise in the communities.
2010 milestones include the following:
- Expired Global Memorandums of Understanding were renewed.
- More than $19 million in new projects was awarded.
- An RDC conducted the first-ever annual, general meeting.
- Approximately 5,000 jobs were generated through our Local Community Content policy.
Promoting Technology as a Tool for Progress
To boost Nigerian technical expertise, Chevron teamed with local partners to establish Nigeria's first Advanced Technology Center for Subsurface Studies in 2002. The center is equipped to conduct high-end technical studies. Its first contract was for the full field simulation study of an undeveloped reservoir in the Meren Field.
Chevron also funded the Biotechnology Center of the Federal University of Technology in Yola, in northeastern Nigeria. The two-story, nine-laboratory facility is designed to help Nigeria use scientific advances to increase food production and reduce disease. The center is equipped to handle research and training in molecular biology, drug analysis and advanced agricultural technologies. Chevron paid for its construction and provided an endowment of $200,000 for operating expenses.
Fighting HIV/AIDS in Nigeria
Chevron helps fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. We directed $5 million of the $30 million we contributed to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to go to the National Agency for the Control of AIDS that fights the pandemic in Nigeria.
We supported the World Federation for World Peace when it conducted a Free Teens program, under which it organized AIDS prevention seminars for secondary schools in Nigeria. In 2006, CNL partnered with two NGOs in an HIV/AIDS awareness program for students at six universities. We currently support Positive Action for Treatment Access, a group owned and run by people living with HIV/AIDS, whose goal is to provide job training and loans for its members.
Chevron built and donated a center at St. Kizito Clinic in Lekki, Lagos, to fight tuberculosis and other infections common to HIV/AIDS patients. With our Agbami Field partners, we commissioned seven chest clinics and donated them to hospitals across the country in 2010.
CNL is a co-chair of the Nigerian Business Coalition Against HIV/AIDS, which was created to pool resources and efforts from the private and public sectors.
CNL has donated essential drugs to the following hospitals: Braithwaite Memorial Hospital, Port Harcourt, in Rivers state; General Hospital, Owerri, in Imo state; General Hospital, Okolobiri, in Bayelsa state; and Central Hospital, Warri, in Delta state. CNL also provided funds for the development of four clinics in the creeks of the Niger Delta.
In 2009, CNL initiated a partnership with the National Agency for the Control of AIDS and the Small and Medium Entrepreneurial Development Agency to develop wellness programs. In 2010, CNL led business training for employees of small and medium-sized businesses.
Supporting Public Health, Education and Culture
The Riverboat Clinic was launched in 2001. This mobile health service serves communities along the Escravos and Benin rivers in the western Niger Delta. The boat carries a full complement of medical personnel and medicines and other health supplies. Treatment is delivered at no cost to local communities. The floating clinic helped more than 23,000 patients in 2008. The clinic also provided free immunizations to more than 1,000 women and children. An outbreak of hostilities in May 2009 forced the clinic to suspend operations. In March 2010, the clinic returned to service, tending to an average of 3,000 patients monthly.
The Roll Back Malaria initiative was launched by Chevron in the states of Rivers and Kaduna in 2006. In 2007, two more states were added to the campaign, which focuses on pregnant women and children under the age of 5. The program continued to grow in 2010, with coverage extending to six more states: Delta, Imo, Katsina, Rivers, Ondo and Lagos.
CNL provides financial and volunteer support for groups that work to improve the community. Beneficiaries include orphanages and homes for the aged in Port Harcourt, Warri and Lagos.
Helping Students and the Needy
Chevron grants scholarships to secondary school and college students. Along with our partners in the Agbami Field, we launched the Agbami Medical and Engineering Professionals Scholarship, which benefited some 860 students from five states in 2009. In 2010, the program was extended to 10 more states. The Agbami partners also donated science laboratories to eight secondary schools in 2010.
With our partners, we donated 11,000 geology books to 10 Nigerian universities.
CNL has also supported various sports activities over the years. Several athletes who took part in the NNPC/Chevron Tennis clinics and tournaments have gone on to represent Nigeria in junior-level competitions.
Care for the Environment
Chevron supports the Lekki Conservation Centre. The 190-acre (0.8-sq-km) sanctuary for the flora and fauna of the Lekki Peninsula is the only refuge of its kind in the Lagos area. Every year, thousands of schoolchildren and their teachers visit the site. Chevron helped found the center and contributed funds for its 20th anniversary celebrations in 2010.
In 2005, Chevron established a postgraduate research scholarship for doctoral students in environment and conservation. In addition, we host the annual S.L. Edu Memorial Lecture to promote environmental management awareness. As has been the case over the last few years, two doctoral students received the Chevron-sponsored S.L. Edu Awards for Environmental Research in 2010.
We also provide funding to the Nigerian Conservation Foundation.
Updated March 2011
Cautionary Statement