Chevron began doing business in Nigeria in 1913, when Texaco® products were first marketed in the country.
Following the Nigerian Indigenization Decree of 1978, which was designed to raise the level of Nigerian participation in business, Chevron divested 40 percent of its shareholdings to the Nigerian public while retaining 60 percent equity in Chevron Oil Nigeria PLC.
In 1996, we built our 103,000-barrel state-of-the-art storage terminal and loading facility in Apapa.
Our energy exploration and production work began more than 40 years ago.
In 1963, American Overseas Petroleum Ltd.—which later became Texaco Overseas (Nigeria) Petroleum Co.—discovered oil at the Koluama Field, offshore Nigeria. In that same year, Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) started drilling near the Escravos River and found the Okan Field.
Discovered in 1998, the Agbami Field is one of the largest deepwater discoveries in Nigeria's history.
Health, Environment and Safety
Nigeria is one of three African countries participating in the Arrive Alive program pioneered by Chevron. The program is making significant strides toward eliminating traffic deaths and injuries in the communities where we work. The Arrive Alive Road Safety Initiative achieved its first major success by recommending revised motorcycle laws to address the serious problems posed by motorcycle taxis in Lagos State. The program also has provided helmets for motorcycle riders.
The Okan Platform, installed in 1963, and other mature platforms have been upgraded to improve pollution prevention measures and safety systems.
Chevron is working across its operations to eliminate routine flaring and venting in line with company requirements and local regulations. Since 1997, when Escravos Gas Plant 1 was commissioned, followed by Plant 2 in 2001, Chevron has advanced various flare-elimination projects to minimize environmental impact while increasing economic benefits. Plant 3A accepted its first gas in 2010. All new developments are being designed with a zero-flare philosophy.
Awards
In 2003, CNL won the U.S. State Department's Award for Corporate Excellence. The company was praised for its work in Nigeria for, among other things, airlifting more than 2,000 community members to safety in 2003 during ethnic conflict in the Niger Delta, setting up the Riverboat Clinic and our HIV/AIDS prevention efforts.
The Nigerian Conservation Foundation honored CNL in 2002 with its Award for Environmental Excellence and again in 2010 with its Environmental Stewardship Award. In 2011, CNL was awarded the Best Company in Human Capital Development prize by the Industrial Training Fund.
In 2012, CNL received several awards and honors:
- The Industrial Training Fund honored the company for being a socially responsible organization. The Lagos Business School Alumni Association President's Award was given to CNL, in recognition of our contributions and support for the school.
- TruContact, a sustainability monitoring organization, presented CNL with an award of excellence for bringing health care and health workers to the most underserved river communities in the Niger Delta through the use of speedboats and other innovative tools.
Economy
Besides the jobs and capital investments created by Chevron's large day-to-day operations, major economic benefits for the community are expected from the West African Gas Pipeline, the Escravos gas-to-liquids project, the Escravos Gas Plant 3A and related projects.
CNL started a partnership with the Lagos Business School to develop local contractors who can better fulfill the needs of the oil industry. Several training sessions have been held in the states of Lagos and Warri. CNL also has invested in instructing Nigerian college students in the use of computer-aided design.
Updated April 2013
Cautionary Statement