The Role of Chevron in the Development of the Niger Delta, the Case Study of Delta State

American oil companies in the Niger Delta have often been appraised for their good code of conduct by many international organizations. However, this is not the case between Chevron and the oil communities in Delta State where Chevron operates. The people of the Niger Delta believe that abundant oil resources in their area should improve the quality of human lives and provide infrastructural developments. This has led unemployed youths in these communities to seek association with various ethnic militia groups. This is because they feel marginalized and have become impatient in bidding for greater control of the natural resources. Today, the insensitivity of Chevron in Delta State has created more tensions and crises threatening not only the oil communities but also national security. To overcome the tension between the two actors, principles and codes of conduct can respond to the problems faced by oil communities and challenges faced by Chevron. To this effect, this paper seeks to examine the role of Chevron in the development of Delta State. The objectives of the study are to examine the impact of Chevron's activities on environment; to determine the extent Chevron has improved the standards of living of the people in Delta State and to investigate Chevron engagement strategies. The paper utilized content analysis and actual field research to the subject matter. Dependency Theory was adopted. The findings revealed that Chevron had done more harm than good in Delta State oil producing areas, Chevron‟s activities has impacted the Escravos communities t in three areas, environmental, standards of living and in the area of community engagements. Environmentally, water is the mostly affected among other elements such as air and land. Results on community engagements strategies showed that over 70% of respondents claimed that they have not felt Chevron‟s impact in the development of Escravos Communities. Some of the challenges observed during the study were that corruption, marginalization and failure of government institutions to administer adequate proper funds for the development of Delta State Escravos communities.