SAN RAMON, Calif., June 10 -- ChevronTexaco today applauded the announcement that Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and three other heads of state have concluded political compacts with the G-8 countries, which will support each government's program to fight corruption and improve transparency.
The compacts are a key component of the G-8 Sea Island Action Plan to implement commitments made at last year's Evian Summit. The Evian declaration "Fighting Corruption and Improving Transparency" outlines the G-8's commitments to take steps to combat bribery, help recover and return stolen assets, and deny safe havens for corrupt officials.
"As a company with a long history of operations in Nigeria, we are fully supportive of President Obasanjo's leadership in addressing transparency and good governance," said ChevronTexaco Chairman Dave O'Reilly. "This very positive step follows Nigeria's November 2003 announcement to officially participate in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), launched by U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair. I was proud at that time to pledge to the Nigerian government our full support and participation in implementing EITI; and with this latest G-8 initiative, we again stand ready to help the Nigerian government continue to turn words into action."
O'Reilly noted that these and other similar recent announcements, both by the Nigerian and Angolan governments, are in line with what ChevronTexaco has long believed and called for: Progress is much more likely in tackling the complex issue of transparency in accounting for oil and gas revenues when government-to-government dialogue occurs and when the process is voluntary. The G-8 also asked a small number of governments that have publicly demonstrated exceptional leadership and commitment in fighting corruption and improving government transparency if they would be interested in undertaking pilot partnerships in support of G-8 anticorruption/transparency programs. Countries agreeing to participate in the pilot include Peru, Georgia and Nicaragua.
Currently celebrating its 125th anniversary, ChevronTexaco is the second- largest U.S.-based energy company and the fifth largest in the world, based on market capitalization. More than 50,000 ChevronTexaco employees work in approximately 180 countries around the world, producing and transporting crude oil and natural gas, and marketing and distributing fuels and other energy products. ChevronTexaco is based in San Ramon, Calif. More information on ChevronTexaco is available at www.chevrontexaco.com.
SOURCE ChevronTexaco