Nigeria
Nigeria is among Chevron's top five crude oil and natural gas producing countries. Chevron began oil production in Nigeria's Delta in 1963, and it holds a 40% interest in 13 onshore and near off-shore concessions in the Niger Delta, along with interests in deepwater blocks. Chevron operates as a joint venture with the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which has a 60% stake in all oil revenues. As the business partner of a government notorious for its well-documented deep corruption,i Chevron bears responsibility for the lack of investment in the communities in the Niger Delta where it operates.
Chevron's operations have brought environmental destruction, oil spills, flaring, destruction of local livelihoods, and mass human rights abuses. In 2008 Chevron was taken to U.S. Federal court for its role in collaborating with the Nigerian military in 1998 to quell a peaceful, unarmed protest resulting in the death of two men and injury and torture of others. Though Chevron was found not liable for the military's actions, it did not deny paying the soldiers, transporting them and directing them the day of the attacks. The plaintiffs are appealing decision.
Shamefully, Chevron engages in gas flaring, the burning of associated gas that comes out of the ground when oil is extracted. People live literally next door to the roaring, ground-level flares—burning 24 hours a day, some for 40 years. Rather than re-inject or harness the associated gas for productive uses, as it does elsewhere, Chevron is among the worst offenders in Nigeria, flaring over 64% of its gas in 2008.
More information on Chevron in Nigeria can be found in the Alternative Annual Report
