The Chairman and Managing Director of Chevron Company in Nigeria, Jim Swartz, has highlighted his company’s developmental and future investment strides in the Nigerian oil and gas sector while advocating for a balanced and pragmatic approach to Nigeria’s energy future through robust policies that encompass economic growth, energy security, and environmental sustainability.

Jim Swartz made this emphatic assertion during a strategic panel discussion tagged “Pragmatically Achieving Energy Abundance” at the 2025 Nigeria Oil and Gas, NOG Energy Week in Abuja, in his presentation he posited that Nigeria energy mix is line with Chevron global business plan which must support energy security,  embrace practicality, inclusiveness, and a lower-carbon energy neutrality.

“Chevron’s Nigeria and Mid-Africa Business Unit is embarking on a journey to improve and grow our business, which we refer to as our 'North Star', which is focused on improving base business performance, monetizing existing gas resources, and growing our crude oil production”. Jim asserted.

On the company’s unalloyed investment commitment in the Nigeria energy space, the Chevron country Chair Swartz unveiled the proactive nature of the company and its unrivaled approach taken by the company which is exceptional among its peers in handling energy business in Nigeria of which one among other is the company being the first IOCs to convert all joint venture and Agbami leases under the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA.

“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 highlighted

Drilling and fast-tracking production from the Meji NW discovery

As concerns the drilling of exploration wells and fast-tracking production from Chevron Meji NW discovery, Chevron has recent channeled efforts and commitment to further exploration and development in the Nigeria oil and gas sector by converting the company entire legacy Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited/Chevron Nigeria Limited joint venture (JV) leases under the Petroleum Industry Act.

Chevron is currently executing a two-rig shallow water drilling program in the JV as part of efforts to improve the current production base, and the discovery of a new oil field in the Meji NW-1 well located in Petroleum Mining Lease (PML) 49 in the Western Niger Delta.  “Chevron takes a long view of Nigeria, and we look forward to being a part of Nigeria’s prosperous future,” he stated.

A shallow water infill drilling program utilizing two rigs involves increasing the density of wells in a reservoir to access previously unswept or poorly drained areas, thereby maximizing ultimate recovery, and this approach is currently being employed by Chevron to enhance production. This can significantly improve recovery factors, even in lower quality reservoir sections, by targeting areas down-dip or around abandoned completions

The signing of a 20-year renewal of 3 deepwater leases

Chevron has shown utmost commitment in the sector through the signing of 20-year renewals of deepwater leases, Oil Mining Lease (OML) 128, PML 52, OML 132, and OML 138, and the company’s recent venture into OPL 215 to boost deepwater development opportunities.

The company’s completion of seismic data acquisition across several of its deepwater leases has equally positioned the company for future exploration opportunities. Chevron's planned infill drilling program will mitigate production decline in the operated Agbami Field and the non-operated Usan Field, as well as support the continued maturation of the non-operated Owowo development.