Chevron reiterates commitment to Nigerian content development

Chevron Nigeria Limited has rated its commitment to Nigerian Content Development very high by promoting Nigeria’s ideals of economic and social development.

Over the years, the company said it has continued to add value and has partnered with Nigeria as it commits itself to the vision of being the global energy company most admired for its people, partnership and performance.

“Chevron plays an active role in the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), working closely with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and legislators on NCD issues.  Chevron has a four-prong approach to NCD, which is inspired by the commitment to ensuring Nigerian entrepreneurs (both at the community and state levels) acquire the right competencies and capabilities to compete for business opportunities with their contemporaries at national and international levels. The approach includes: selection of qualified local contractors; facilitation of partnerships and alliances between indigenous companies and foreign firms; capacity building; and development of local competencies,” it said.

The Chairman/Managing Director of Chevron Nigeria Ltd, Jeff Ewing, explained the company’s stance on NCD thus: “At Chevron Nigeria Limited, 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. We have helped in building the capacities of several Nigerian businesses by allocating substantial scopes of our major capital projects to Nigerian companies. Chevron is also helping to grow the Nigerian economy by contributing to the development of communities in the areas of our operation. We do all this, not just because it is required by the law, but because it is the right thing to do.”

The various areas in which Chevron implements the NOGICD Act in Nigeria include human capacity development, facility fabrication, construction and installations. Others include support for facility acquisition, facilitation of partnerships between local and foreign contractors, and provision of opportunities for local community contractors through work scope allocation in Chevron’s major capital projects in Nigeria.

On human capacity development, Chevron completed construction training for 161 Nigerians on welding, fabrication and craft at Nigerdock facility, Snake Island, Lagos for its Sonam Development Project. Also on the Agbami Phase 3 Development Project, Chevron sponsored four Nigerian engineers for subsea engineering training in France in partnership with NCDMB and Technip Offshore Nigeria Limited. The training also included two visits to manufacturing plants in France and Norway. Chevron is currently training six young Nigerian Engineers in subsea engineering at FMC Technologies facility, Federal Ocean Terminal (FOT) Onne, Rivers State. In addition, five Nigerian Engineering graduates sponsored by CNL, also completed subsea training at Marine Platforms Limited in Port Harcourt. One of the trainees was offered full-time employment with Marine Platforms Limited (MPL) as a Marine Cadet.

CNL’s accomplishments in human capital development include training 14 earth science graduates in two batches under the 12-month skills acquisition programme initiated by NCDMB. CNL also offered scholarships to Nigerian seamen for dynamic positioning training at PEM Offshore Limited, a marine training facility with a contract worth $1 million and collaborated with NCDMB to assist over 600 community graduates to register in the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Content Joint Qualification System (NOGIC JQS). CNL also awarded a $180,000 contract to a local consulting firm, Lonadek Nigeria Limited, to develop and pilot an industry-first capacity building initiative for drilling and completion professionals.

On fabrication, construction and installation, Chevron facilitated the assembly by FMC Technologies of the first assembled-in-Nigeria Subsea Horizontal Xmas Tree and the fabrication in Nigeria of Agbami production manifolds for the Agbami Phase 3 Project by FMC Technologies/Aveon Offshore Nigeria Limited. Chevron also facilitated the safe, timely and successful installation of subsea equipment like flexible flowlines, umbilicals and jumpers on Agbami Phase 3 project by a Nigerian Contractor – Marine Platforms Limited.

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