Ahead of this year’s World Environmental Day (WED) on Wednesday, Chevron Nigeria Ltd (CNL) has reaffirmed its commitment to environmental stewardship in its area of operations.
The World Environment Day (WED), which holds annually on June 5, is the biggest event to celebrate and promote environmental awareness and sustainability across the globe.
“Air Pollution,” the theme for World Environment Day 2019, is a potential environmental risk that can impact people as well as the environment.
Speaking on this year’s event, Chairman/Managing Director, Jeff Ewing, disclosed that Chevron Nigeria Ltd (CNL), the operator of the joint venture between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and CNL (NNPC/CNL JV), conducts its business in a socially and environmentally responsible manner in compliance with regulatory requirements, best practices and has made environmental stewardship part of its social investment programmes.
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According to him, for over 50 years, CNL has remained an active agent of sustainable development and a strong advocate of partnerships in support of the environment.
He noted that CNL was “happy to be part of the solution to global environmental issues wherever the company operates through its sound environmental management policy that supports environmental stewardship and sustainable development.
“CNL has in place a company-wide operational excellence management system that delivers industry-leading performance in process safety, personal safety and health, environment, reliability and efficiency.
“CNL has a record of responsible environmental stewardship everywhere it operates and has also established enduring partnerships with governments, non–governmental organisations, business organisations and communities.
“CNL has been supporting and sponsoring various programmes aimed at preserving the environment. These partnerships and efforts have been recognised and applauded within and outside Nigeria.”
In protecting the environment and helping to manage air emissions, he affirmed that CNL has “invested extensively in projects aimed at eliminating routine flares from its operations and establishing a profitable gas business through a range of domestic, regional and export supply projects.
“These projects, which include the Escravos Gas Plant, the Escravos Gas-to-Liquids plant, Sonam Gas Development and the Abiteye and Makaraba Non-Associated Gas Development, help fulfil NNPC/CNL JV’s Domestic Gas Supply Obligation and support the Nigerian Gas Master Plan.”
The CNL’s boss further stated that “through investments in gathering and processing associated gas, routine flaring has been reduced by over 90 per cent from 2008 to date in CNL’s operations.”
Speaking further on the company’s activities, Mr Ewing said “CNL’s environmental stewardship process lays the foundation for sound environmental management.
“The identification, assessment and management of environmental risks are captured through the entire project cycle from inception to operations to decommissioning.
“CNL recognizes the importance of minimizing our environmental footprint and preserving biodiversity and the NNPC/CNL JV strives continually to achieve world-class environmental excellence by assessing and reducing potential impacts on the environment arising from its operations.
“CNL continues to conduct Environmental Impact Assessments and Environmental Evaluation studies of its Joint Venture and Deepwater operations to ensure potential environmental impacts are identified and mitigated in accordance with environmental performance standards and industry best practices.
“We continue to invest in available technology for tracking and managing of our ecological footprint in our areas of operation.”
TrinuneOnline reports that in 1992, CNL established the Lekki Conservation Centre in Lagos – a centre for environmental research and education, reserved as a sanctuary for the rich flora and fauna of the Lekki Peninsula.
The 78-hectare facility, it will be recalled, was set up by CNL in partnership with the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), Nigeria’s foremost non-governmental organisation dedicated to environmental conservation and an affiliate with the World-Wide Fund for Nature.
CNL’s General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Esimaje Brikinn, on his part, noted that CNL has continued to collaborate with all stakeholders to safeguard the environment.
“We are continually working to improve our processes to reduce pollution and waste, conserve natural resources, and reduce potentially negative environmental impacts of our activities and operations,” he remarked.