$10bn spent on Nigerian suppliers, service providers in 10yrs: Chevron CEO
US oil major Chevron has said it spent an estimated average of $10 billion on Nigerian suppliers and service providers
US oil major Chevron has said it spent an estimated average of $10 billion on Nigerian suppliers and service providers in the last 10 years.
Jim Swartz, chairman and managing director of Chevron Nigeria and Mid-Africa Business Unit, said the company would continue to partner with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to boost local capacities in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
“We will continue our efforts in capacity building and training of the local talents, our support for research and development and facilitation of partnerships among local businesses,” he said on a panel at the Practical Nigeria Content Forum organised by the NCDMB in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State from December 2 to 5.
“For the last 10 years, CNL has spent an estimated annual average of $1 billion on Nigerian suppliers and service providers. We do all this, not because we are compelled to, but because it is the right thing to do.”
Swartz noted that as an industry that thrives on partnership with key stakeholders, the Nigerian oil and gas industry is expected to continue to play an active role in prioritising Nigeria content development and building local capacity in the industry.
He explained that Chevron believes that its business success in providing affordable, reliable, ever-cleaner energy is directly tied to the progress and prosperity of the people it works with and the communities where it operates. “Our strategy is to leverage our strengths to safely deliver lower carbon energy to a growing world. Our primary objective is to deliver higher returns, lower carbon, and superior stakeholder value in any business environment,” he stated.
Swartz said: “Having made significant investments in Nigeria for over 60 years, Chevron believes that the broad and varied opportunities in the oil and gas industry, can be harnessed to engender economic development, with the appropriate government legislation, policies, and regulations.
“Chevron’s Nigerian Content policy is driven by the vision to be recognized as the petroleum company that works best to foster competence and competitiveness among Nigerian indigenous contractors and suppliers, by adopting the participatory-partnership model.”
He noted that Chevron companies in Nigeria had developed and implemented the Local/Nigerian Content development philosophy as far back as 1999, well before the April 2010 enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act.
He said: “At Chevron, we demonstrate our commitment to the socio-economic development of Nigeria by building mutually beneficial partnerships and supporting the policies of government on Nigerian Content Development. In addition to skills acquisition trainings for Nigerians, Chevron provides contract and procurement opportunities, support for asset acquisition, technical support, and facilitates collaboration on research and development for local community contractors.”
