As Nigeria marks its 66th Independence Anniversary, Chevron companies in Nigeria reaffirm their confidence in the country and their long-standing commitment to partnership, investment and responsible energy development.

For more than six decades, Chevron has contributed to Nigeria’s growth through oil and gas production, deepwater investment, gas development, local content, human capacity development and strategic community partnerships.

Chevron is a leading oil and gas producer and investor in Nigeria, with operations across the Niger Delta and interests in major deepwater assets. Jim Swartz, Chairman and Managing Director of Chevron Companies in Nigeria, said the company takes a long-term view of Nigeria, with continued focus on operational excellence, efficiency, innovation and investment across its portfolio. He noted that Chevron remains committed to building enduring relationships that enable human progress today and in the future.

To support sustained growth, Chevron is expanding and optimising its assets through exploration, infill drilling and production enhancement. The company supports the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 and the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen the industry’s regulatory framework and investment climate.

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Since the PIA, Chevron has renewed and converted key joint-venture and deepwater leases; recorded discoveries at Meji NW-1, Delta South AA and Awodi-07; entered PPLs 2000 and 2001 through farm-in agreements; acquired deepwater block PPL 2010; and renewed Oil Prospecting Licence 215.

Chevron is also participating in strategic deepwater opportunities, including the announced Bonga Southwest/Aparo and Owowo/Usan developments. Completion of seismic acquisition across several deepwater leases is supporting future exploration, while planned infill drilling at the Agbami and non-operated Usan hubs is intended to mitigate natural production decline and sustain output.

Gas development remains another important pillar of Chevron’s contribution. Investments in the Escravos Gas Plant and Escravos Gas-to-Liquids facility have supported gas utilisation, reduced routine flaring and enabled production of high-quality products such as naphtha and refined diesel. Chevron also led the development of the approximately 700-kilometre West African Gas Pipeline, through which Nigeria supplies gas to Benin, Togo and Ghana, supporting regional economic growth and energy security.

Local content and human capacity development are central to Chevron’s operations. Nigerians account for more than 90 per cent of its in-country workforce. The company established its Local Content Policy in 1999, well before enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act in 2010, and continues to collaborate with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board while creating contract opportunities for Nigerian companies and contractors.

Beyond its operations, Chevron and its partners invest in health, education and environmental conservation. In health, the Agbami parties have constructed and equipped more than 28 chest clinics, donated nine mother-and-child healthcare centres and provided a medical diagnostics laboratory. These facilities strengthen tuberculosis treatment, maternal and child care, diagnostics and emergency response. Chevron Corporation has also supported global programmes addressing HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, with benefits extending to Nigeria.

Chevron’s education programmes have benefited more than 23,000 people through scholarships, infrastructure and capacity building. Since 2009, the Agbami Medical and Engineering Professional Scholarship has supported more than 16,500 students nationwide, including 715 first-class graduates.

Chevron Nigeria and its deepwater partners have also delivered 39 science laboratory complexes and 25 conventional and hybrid libraries, while encouraging students to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

In environmental conservation, Chevron supported the establishment of the 78-hectare Lekki Conservation Centre and donated it to the Nigerian Conservation Foundation in 1992; today, it supports research, education and biodiversity protection.

As Nigeria celebrates 66 years of independence, Chevron’s message is clear: the company sees Nigeria as a long-term strategic partner and remains committed to investing in energy development, Nigerian capability and sustainable national progress. Through disciplined investment, collaboration and responsible operations, Chevron intends to continue contributing to Nigeria’s energy security, economic growth and shared prosperity.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said Nigeria must reduce losses between farms and markets as part of efforts to bring down food prices and ease the cost of living.

Tinubu made this known in his Independence Day address to Nigerians on Thursday, as the country marked its 66th anniversary.

The President said reducing the cost of producing and transporting food would be critical to making essential goods more affordable for Nigerians.

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According to him, the government is expanding mechanised irrigation and dry-season farming while improving access to seeds, fertiliser, storage and transportation.

He said the government was also building and completing roads, railways and ports to improve the movement of agricultural produce and connect farms and factories to markets.

Tinubu explained that when farmers produce at lower costs and fewer crops are lost before reaching the market, the savings can ultimately be reflected in the prices paid by consumers.

“Our logic is simple. When a farmer produces more cheaply, when fewer crops are lost between the farm and the market, when a manufacturer spends less on electricity, when a truck reaches its destination faster, and when the business environment fosters fair competition, all those savings will ultimately find their way into the price of goods in the market,” he said.

The President said the measures form part of his administration’s broader plan to lower the cost of living and move the country towards what he described as an era of shared prosperity.

Under-dispensing of petroleum products at retail outlets across Nigeria would no longer be tolerated and identified violations could lead to the revocation of the culprits’ licences.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) handed down the caution in an industry circular, in which it directed all retail outlet operators to immediately calibrate and verify their dispensing pumps and totalisers to ensure accurate measurement to be certain that consumers receive the full quantity of products for which they pay.

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The NMDPRA said it had observed incidents of under-dispensing at retail outlets nationwide, describing the practice as a serious breach of consumer trust.

It stated that it had intensified inspections and enforcement activities across the country and would take action against outlets found to be under-dispensing, operating with improperly calibrated equipment or otherwise compromising dispensing accuracy.

“Persistent or serious violations will be subject to appropriate sanctions, up to and including revocation of the outlet’s licence, in line with NMDPRA’s regulations,” the authority stated.

The regulator urged operators to take immediate corrective measures where discrepancies are identified, stressing the need to maintain the integrity and accuracy of petroleum product transactions.

The NMDPRA also directed the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) to promptly communicate the directive to their members and support compliance across the industry.