Future of energy is lower carbon, Chevron tells Nigeria
Sopuruchi Onwuka
Whereas Nigeria and other African governments vow to continue development of their hydrocarbon resources for multiple economic purposes including foreign exchange income, international energy company companies have also continued to stress the need for the continent to align with the prevailing global movement towards cleaner energy forms.
Leaders of the foreign oil majors in the country concluded at the Nigerian Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week which just wrapped up in Abuja that time has come for producers to adopt a balanced mix of energy options that have decarbonization in focus.
The Oracle reports that energy transition and climate action are subjects of heated policy debates among international energy companies, the conference of parties (COP) of the United Nations, multilateral lending institutions, industrialized nations and petroleum exporting countries.
African producers who demand phased energy transition and exemption from climate action point at energy poverty in the continent, the need to achieve energy security and the role of petroleum in meeting ever rising global energy demand in the face of currently costly and inadequate clean energy resources.
Nigeria particularly leads the decision by African oil producers to continue driving exploitation of hydrocarbon fuels both for export internal utilization, contending strongly that the prevailing global campaign for energy transition is a product of geopolitics.
African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO) also provides harmonized bloc resistance to global mobilization for migration of energy demand to cleaner, renewable and greener sources. APPO argues that Africa should not be made the double victim of climate impact and energy injustice at the same time.
However, global movement towards cleaner energy is determined and mainstreamed with international energy policies that divert funding from petroleum development to renewable energy development. And experts say that boost in clean energy production would continue to diminish the share of fossil energy in the global energy mix in the medium to long term.
At the NOG Energy Week 2025, the , made it clear that a balanced and pragmatic approach to the future of energy has become urgent for Nigeria to meet its economic growth aspirations.
He pointed out that Nigerian must adopt diversified energy portfolios in order to meet growing energy demand, ensure availability of affordable, reliable and ever-cleaner energy, while advancing the lower carbon future.
He made it clear that the future of energy is lower carbon.
Jim who was speaking on “Pragmatically Achieving Energy Abundance” stated Chevron’s belief that whereas oil and gas will remain a viable component of the energy mix for the foreseeable future the future of energy is lower carbon.
He also emphasized the need for a more pragmatic conversation about energy in a manner that balances economic prosperity, energy security and environmental protection.
He narrated how Chevron leverages its strengths to safely deliver lower carbon energy to a growing world while adapting to changes, continuously improving its processes and building resilience to remain competitive while ensuring profitability.
“Chevron in Nigeria has embarked on a journey to improve and grow our business, which is referred to as the ‘North Star’. Our North Star strategies include to: Improve Base Business, Grow Production and Monetize Gas Resources,” he declared.
He emphasized that Chevron continues to differentiate itself as the only IOCS that maintains its operations in Onshore, Shallow Water and Deepwater assets and one of the first to convert all its joint venture and Agbami leases under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) enabling further exploration and development.
“Our recent efforts to position ourselves for a new phase of growth include recent farm-in into OPL 215 to boost deepwater development opportunities, signing of 20-year renewal of 3 deepwater leases, completion of seismic data acquisition in our deepwater leases, the ongoing shallow water infill drilling program utilizing 2 rig, drilling of exploration wells and fast-tracking production from our Meji NW discovery,” he stated.
He also emphasised the role of technology in increasing operational efficiency and decision-making noting that technology plays a crucial role in driving energy development in the form of digital transformation, renewable energy, smart grid technology, supply chain optimization, and environmental monitoring.
While appreciating the Federal Government of Nigeria for pursuing reforms in the oil and gas sector, Jim urged more collaboration among the government, the private sector and other stakeholders to improve the industry’s competitiveness.
“Chevron takes a long view of Nigeria, and we look forward to being a part of Nigeria’s prosperous future,” he stated.
