Chevron Debunks Exit Rumours, Restates Commitment To Nigeria

Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) has issued a statement denying recent media reports that the company plans to exit Nigeria.

The statement, signed by General Manager of Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Esimaje Brikinn, emphasized that CNL remains committed to sustaining its long-term relationship with Nigeria.

According to Brikinn, CNL’s significant economic and social investments in the country over the past six decades have generated tangible benefits for communities across Nigeria.

He also emphasized that CNL will continue to work with other industry players and the government to ensure the competitiveness and sustainability of the petroleum industry in Nigeria.

Brikinn went on to say that the misleading media report does not reflect the position of Chevron in Nigeria and the company remains committed to its operations in the country.

Chevron is one of the largest oil producers in Nigeria and one of its largest investors.

In Nigeria, it operates under a joint-venture arrangement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the onshore and offshore assets in the Niger Delta region.

Chevron also has extensive interests in multipartner deepwater operations. The company operates the Agbami Field, one of Nigeria’s largest deepwater discoveries. We also have a nonoperated interest in the Usan Field.

Through Chevron’s principal subsidiary in Nigeria, Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), the company operates and holds a 40 percent interest in eight concessions in the onshore and near-onshore regions of the Niger Delta under a joint-venture arrangement with the NNPC. Chevron also does business through other subsidiaries in Nigeria.

Chevron has interests, ranging from 20 to 100 percent, in three operated and six nonoperated deepwater blocks in Nigeria.

Chevron operates the Agbami Field, which lies 70 miles (113 km) off the coast of the central Niger Delta region and spans 45,000 acres (182 sq km). Discovered in 1998, the Agbami Field is at a water depth of approximately 4,800 feet (1,463 m). Chevron has a 67.3 percent interest in the field.

Agbami is a subsea development with wells tied back to a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. The original Agbami development scope (Agbami 1, 2 and 3) is complete. To offset field decline, infill drilling continued in 2019.

Chevron has a 30 percent nonoperated working interest in the Usan Field, in 2,461 feet (750 m) of water, 62 miles (100 km) off the coast of the eastern Niger Delta region.

The Aparo Field and the third-party-owned Bonga SW Field share a common geologic structure and are planned to be developed jointly. The structure lies in 4,300 feet (1,311 m) of water, 70 miles (113 km) off the coast of the western Niger Delta region. The proposed development plan involves subsea wells tied back to an FPSO vessel. Work continues toward a final investment decision.

Chevron operates and has a 55 percent interest in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 140. The block lies in roughly 8,000 feet (2,438 m) of water, 90 miles (145 km) off the coast of the western Niger Delta region, and includes the Nsiko discoveries. Chevron’s 30 percent nonoperated working interest in OML 138 includes the Usan Field and several satellite discoveries and a 27 percent interest in adjacent licenses OML 139 and OML 154. We are working with the operator to evaluate development options for the multiple discoveries in the Usan area, including the Owowo Field which straddles OML 139 and OML 154.

Chevron is involved in natural gas projects in the western Niger Delta and Escravos areas, including the Escravos Gas Plant (EGP), the Escravos Gas-to-Liquids (EGTL) facility and the Sonam Field Development Project.

CNL operates the EGP, which has a total capacity of 680 million cubic feet per day of natural gas and LPG and a condensate export capacity of 58,000 barrels per day. Chevron and the NNPC operate the EGTL facility, a 33,000-barrel-per-day gas-to-liquids plant.

The Sonam Field Development Project is designed to process natural gas through the EGP and deliver it to the domestic gas market. Net production at the 40 percent-owned and operated project averaged 11,000 barrels of liquids and 89 million cubic feet of natural gas per day in 2019.

With a 36.7 percent interest, Chevron is the largest shareholder in the West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited, which owns and operates the 421-mile (678-km) West African Gas Pipeline. The pipeline supplies customers in Benin, Ghana and Togo with Nigerian natural gas for power generation and industrial applications. It has the capacity to transport approximately 170 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.