Chevron Corporation has planned an investment of $33 billion on exploration and production activities, including major natural gas-related projects in Nigeria and five other countries, as part of the $36.7 billion capital and exploratory investment programme for 2013.

The company said in a recent statement that notable major capital investments in 2013 include developments in Australia, Nigeria, the United States deep-water Gulf of Mexico, Kazakhstan , Angola and the Republic of Congo .

According to the company, planned capital spending also is directed toward improving crude oil and natural gas recovery and reducing natural field declines for existing producing assets throughout the world.

Upstream spending in 2013 for major capital projects includes further development of Nigeria's Usan and Agbami deepwater fields and construction and plant commissioning of the Escravos gas-to-liquids facility.

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Chevron, Mr. John Watson, stated that consistent with long-stated strategies, the company would be investing in a portfolio of very attractive oil and gas projects that would deliver volume growth and real value to its shareholders.

"Next year's programme supports several projects currently under construction, including our Australian LNG projects and United States deepwater developments. As these and other projects come online, we anticipate production will reach our 2017 goal of 3.3 million barrels per day. With our strong balance sheet and industry-leading producing margins, I further expect to continue our pattern of significant stockholder distributions," he said.

Vice Chairman of the company, Mr. George Kirkland, noted that while investment requirements had grown, oil prices, which directly impact the overall revenue stream, had increased by approximately 80 per cent over the same time period.