Economic development

Training a local workforce is one of our priorities. In Indonesia, Mobil Cepu Ltd. and ExxonMobil Oil Indonesia Inc., ExxonMobil subsidiaries, offer an Industry Vocational Training Program for local men and women to hone their skills.

To date, we have helped train more than 1,200 young people from areas nearby our Arun and Banyu Urip fields in welding, plumbing, carpentry, forklift operation and electrical installation. One local resident who has reaped the benefits of having participated in the training program, Sri Yuni Setyawati, graduated from the school of Marine Engineering at Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology in November 2013. Of her experience, Yuni said, “I hope every youth around the Banyu Urip project is able to participate in this training so that he or she has the opportunity to enhance his or her skills and the internship to develop his or her skills and attitude.”

ExxonMobil’s approach to training and hiring Indonesians has led to a workforce composition that is more than 90 percent Indonesian. In addition, we have 110 Indonesian trainees, some of whom are working as expatriates in Angola, Cameroon, Malaysia, Nigeria and the United States to expand their skills before returning to join their fellow graduates and support our operations in Indonesia.

At our Sakhalin-1 project in Russia, Exxon Neftegas Limited (ENL), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, has developed an effective program to increase participation of Russian companies. We use a systematic outreach program to inform Russian companies of the opportunities and project requirements in advance of when goods and services are required. The end result is a healthier and more competitive supply chain for the project, increased business opportunities for Russian companies, and more jobs in the regional economy. Approximately $13.3 billion in contracts — two-thirds of the total contract value with third-party vendors — were awarded to Russian companies or joint ventures from 1996 to 2013.

From the onset of development at Kearl, the management team committed to providing local businesses, individuals and communities with full and fair opportunity to participate at the site. The result has been an open and transparent process for procurement and employment that has enabled many in the region to benefit.

“First oil at Kearl is a great reward for everyone who put so much hard work into the development of the project,” said Brad Spence, Aboriginal Employment Coordinator. “For local businesses, this milestone also brings forward new types of work in longer-term support of day-to-day operations at site, in addition to ongoing contracts supporting the construction of the Kearl Expansion Project, as well as new opportunities from smaller projects on site.” While the types of opportunities have evolved, Kearl has retained the same proven and successful process for pursuing them. Kearl will continue to communicate opportunities with local Aboriginal and local businesses using the Fort McMurray Chamber of Commerce REDLink and the Northeastern Alberta Aboriginal Business Association NAABANet.

“We’ve had great success and very positive feedback on the system we have in place both from Kearl contractors and the local business community, so we wanted to maintain that format as we move forward at Kearl,” said Brad. “Opportunities supporting Kearl operations as well as construction, whether they are for Imperial or one of its contractors, will continue to be advertised through REDLink and NAABANet. We will also maintain our continuous communication with local businesses to ensure they are kept up to date on our operations and requirements, as well as actively engaged with NAABA and its members.”

One method through which Kearl keeps the community informed is through participation in events like NAABA’s annual general meeting. Imperial presented at the event, and also had staff on hand to answer questions regarding developments and opportunities at Kearl. Kearl is proud to contribute to the economic development of local Aboriginal and other businesses in the region. Between the start of construction in 2008 to year-end 2012, more than $1 billion worth of goods and services were purchased from local suppliers in the region, including more than $270 million from Aboriginal businesses.

For more than 15 years, ExxonMobil has supported the Bioko Island Biodiversity Protection Program (BBPP) in Equatorial Guinea, in association with Drexel University in the United States and the National University of Equatorial Guinea (UNGE).

The cultural exchange between U.S. and Equatorial Guinea professors and students extends far beyond the scientific scope of this biodiversity protection program.

"ExxonMobil recognized early on that the BBPP was effective in both saving the biodiversity of Bioko Island and in building capacity in rural communities and at UNGE." Dr. Gail Hearn, Drexel University

Bioko Island, located 20 miles off the Gulf of Guinea coast in West Africa, is considered biologically diverse, with critical habitat for seven species of endangered monkeys and four species of nesting sea turtles. These rare species are frequent targets of poachers and commercial hunters, but with ExxonMobil’s support, the BBPP deploys wildlife patrols to monitor the legally protected areas of the island through a monthly census. The ExxonMobil Foundation also provided funding to open the Moka Wildlife Center, the country’s first biological field station. The center hosts training sessions and wildlife research programs. 

BBPP’s efforts have also contributed to passing legislation that promotes conservation and bans the hunting of endangered primates throughout Equatorial Guinea. In 2013, BBPP implemented educational outreach programs for local schoolchildren.