The Chevron Ecuador Lawsuit Trial | Chevron's Views & Opinions

“A shakedown is still a shakedown – even when every side of a ‘complicated’ story is shown…But ‘Crude,’ Joe Berlinger’s documentary about the Amazon Defense Front’s $27-billion lawsuit against Chevron for allegedly not cleaning up abandoned Ecuadorian oil wells, doesn’t quite see it as a shakedown…Berlinger did viewers of the film a disservice by not examining the poor track record of PetroEcuador, the state-owned oil company. PetroEcuador has a horrendous environmental record with more than 1,000 oil spills since 2000. In 2006, BusinessWeek said the company had ‘suffered an oil spill every two days this year.’ That in itself is something Berlinger should have noted in his reporting. But Berlinger had another agenda.”
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“Chevron, which expects to lose the case in Ecuador, has been telling its shareholders it doesn’t expect to be forced to pay any judgment. “We’re not paying and we’re going to fight this for years if not decades into the future,” the company told WSJ.”
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“Chevron denies the allegations, arguing that Texaco’s operations in Ecuador met local and international standards, that a $40 million cleanup effort in the 1990s resolved any environmental liability the company had there, and that any remaining problems are the responsibility of Petroecuador, the state-run oil company that took over Texaco’s operations.”
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“Ecuador’s seizure of two oil concessions operated by Perenco exposes the state to ‘billions’ of dollars in compensation claims, Rodrigo Marquez, head of the group’s Latin American division, said yesterday. … ‘We’ve been expelled and our assets have been taken over,’ Mr Marquez told the Financial Times. ‘They are trying to say they did not really take over the facilities because they did not send the army in, but before we were due to start the suspension of activities government officials went in . . . and started to persuade the employees not to carry out their instructions. You would appreciate that an employee caught in that situation would feel intimidated,’ he said.”
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“Can plaintiffs in a lawsuit generate infinite favorable publicity, yet have virtually no substance to back up their claims?  The Amazon Defense Coalition (ADC) has found a way to play into many peoples’ concerns about oil companies—but with very little substance behind their accusations.  ADC is shaking down Chevron for $27.3 billion, with essentially nothing to back it up.”
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“The shenanigans cited by Judge Chaney are typical of cases where U.S. “multinationals” are shaken down by trial lawyers supported by populist, politicized foreign courts. Another example is the ongoing case in Ecuador, where indigenous groups supported by the government are suing Chevron-Texaco for $16 billion in environmental and health damages; the U.S. firm questions the evidence and contends that any blame rests with the prime operator, the inept Petroecuador. The lack of impartial justice thwarts progress in the developing world, starting with national governments that are either too ineffective, corrupt, or both to protect their own people. Because of dysfunctional judicial systems, genuine victims—and even responsible companies looking to defend themselves from unfounded claims—are denied justice in local courts.”
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“President Obama also criticized Ecuadorian government meddling in the environmental trial against Chevron. ‘The U.S. government has encouraged Ecuadorian government officials to refrain from commenting on ongoing judicial cases,’ Obama wrote, referring to the Chevron case.”
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“U.S. trial lawyers are pursuing this baseless lawsuit and an aggressive media campaign of lies and distortions aimed at damaging the company’s reputation to pressure Chevron into writing them a huge check. That is called extortion.”
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