For the first time in company history, Chevron Corporation has been awarded the U.S. Minerals Management Service’s (MMS) national Safety Award for Excellence (SAFE) – one of the highest honors in the industry for safe, clean and compliant operations.

The SAFE award recognises companies who display the most exemplary performance throughout the nation, taking into consideration a company’s performance in each of their respective Outer Continental Shelf districts where operations are held. The Gulf of Mexico business unit of Chevron was also recognised as the Lake Charles District award winner and the Houma District award winner for the South Timbalier Production Group. Criteria for the awards include safety and environmental performance and compliance with all regulations.

The ceremony, held in Houston last week, was attended by more than 40 Chevron employees representing the operations, drilling and construction groups who earned this award. The award was accepted on Chevron’s behalf by Melody Meyer, vice president for the Gulf of Mexico business unit of Chevron Corporation.

“This is the premier recognition in our industry meaning that we are most admired for our safety, environmental, and compliance performance,” said Meyer. “This is a tremendous honor that exemplifies our Chevron Way values and recognises the outstanding performance of our employees and business partners who work with us in the Gulf of Mexico.”

“Within Global Upstream and Gas, we recognise the Gulf of Mexico business unit as a leader in safe operations; and it’s especially rewarding when the industry or an outside organization recognises Chevron as a company that exemplifies excellence in safety,” said Gary Luquette, President, North America Exploration and Production for Chevron. “I am proud of all the employees and contractors who contributed to this accomplishment and for keeping safety as a core value in everything they do.”

Chevron was one of four finalists in the High Activity category for Outer Continental Shelf operations. Other finalists included Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, El Paso Corporation and Shell Exploration and Production Co. Chevron was honored as a finalist for this award in both 2004 and 2005. A company that qualifies under the ‘High Activity’ category must produce at least 10 MMBOE per year and operate a minimum of 1,000 in-service components during the year. In 2007, the Gulf of Mexico business unit produced 78 MMBOE and operated more than 40,000 in-service components, making Chevron one of the largest producers in this category.

“In 2007, our performance in the Gulf of Mexico reflected continuous improvement and our best ever results in recordable injuries and production INC’s (Incidents of Non-Compliance),” said Clay Neff, General Manager-operations for the Gulf of Mexico business unit. “We appreciate, and will celebrate this recognition, but we also know that we can’t rest on our laurels in the journey to zero incidents.” Chevron is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies. The company has about 56,000 employees, and Chevron’s subsidiaries conduct business in approximately 180 countries. Chevron operates across the entire energy spectrum—exploring for, producing and transporting crude oil and natural gas; refining, marketing and distributing fuels and other energy products; generating power; designing and marketing large-scale energy efficiency solutions and commercialising the energy resources of the future, including biofuels and other renewables.  Chevron is based in San Ramon, California.