Chevron Nigeria Limited has reduced gas flaring by 98 per cent over the past decade as part of efforts to promote cleaner energy production and environmental sustainability.
The company’s General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Oduselu Olusoga, disclosed this on Monday at Asaba, Delta State, during a one-day oil and gas reporting workshop organised in partnership with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Delta State Council.
Olusoga, who was represented by Chevron’s Manager, Communications, Dr Victor Anyaegbuduke, said the company had significantly reduced gas flaring by gathering and treating associated gas before supplying it to the domestic market.
“What we are looking for is cleaner energy, cleaner oil, environmentally safe production of oil,” he said.
He explained that the company’s approach was aimed at reducing the environmental impact of oil and gas operations while ensuring that gas resources were utilised productively.
Olusoga also disclosed that Chevron spends about $1 million annually on Nigerian content development, stressing the company’s commitment to ensuring that local participation remains an integral part of its operations.
According to him, the company has continued to support initiatives designed to develop Nigerian capacity and increase the participation of local businesses in the oil and gas industry.
He also highlighted Chevron’s pioneering role in the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU), introduced in 2005 to promote a participatory approach to community development.
He said the model gave host communities greater ownership of development projects by allowing them to determine their priority needs and develop five-year plans.
“What the GMOU did was that it gave communities ownership of the development process. You saw community members now becoming members of the RDC, determining what they wanted,” he said.
According to him, communities could prioritise projects such as hospitals, water supply and electricity, while Chevron provided funding, engaged non-governmental organisations to support implementation and monitored the projects.
Earlier, the Chairman of the NUJ Delta State Council, Comrade Churchill Oyowe, expressed the union’s appreciation for the partnership with Chevron in organising the capacity-building programme.
Oyowe said the training was timely given the strategic importance of the oil and gas industry to Nigeria’s economy, energy security and national development.
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He reaffirmed the NUJ’s commitment to continuous professional development for journalists, noting that better-trained journalists would be better positioned to serve the public interest and uphold professional credibility.
The NUJ chairman said oil and gas reporting required more than the ability to write news stories, stressing the need for journalists to understand the industry’s value chain, regulatory framework, environmental issues, community relations, energy transition and the economic complexities surrounding the sector.
“It also requires a strong commitment to professional ethics, accuracy and fairness,” Oyowe said.
The workshop forms part of efforts by industry stakeholders and the media to strengthen the quality of reporting on Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, particularly on issues relating to environmental sustainability, local content and host-community development.
