press release
Chevron Welcomes Petroecuador Clean-up Announcement
SAN RAMON, Calif., December 16, 2011 – Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) today released the following statement from Hewitt Pate, vice president and general counsel, regarding the recent announcement by Ecuador's state oil company, Petroecuador, that the company will complete its remediation of the sites it is responsible for under a 1995 agreement entered into with Texaco Petroleum Co. (TexPet) at the conclusion of an oil-producing consortium:
"Chevron welcomes Petroecuador's announcement that it will remediate the remaining sites it is responsible for under the remediation agreement. Petroecuador's $70 million remediation budget, which covers an area larger than that of TexPet's remediation, is within a reasonable cost range under U.N. standards. This figure stands in contrast to the multi-billion dollar claim fabricated by American plaintiffs' lawyers to extort money from Chevron through a ghost-written judgment.
"The Ecuadorian government deserves credit for taking positive steps to help the people and environment of the Oriente and to break the cycle of corruption and misinformation caused by the fraudulent case against Chevron.
"Petroecuador's remediation should be completed without further interference, and the perpetrators of the fraudulent litigation -- who have lobbied to delay the remediation -- should be brought to justice. Chevron would welcome a constructive dialogue with the government of Ecuador on both topics."
Background
Chevron is defending itself against false allegations that it is responsible for environmental and social harms in the Amazon region of Ecuador. Chevron has never conducted oil production operations in Ecuador, and its subsidiary TexPet fully remediated its share of environmental impacts arising from its participation in an oil producing consortium with Petroecuador prior to 1992. After the remediation work, defined in a Remedial Action Plan negotiated with the government of Ecuador and Petroecuador, was certified by all agencies of the Ecuadorian government responsible for oversight, TexPet received a complete release from Ecuador's national, provincial and municipal governments prior to being acquired by Chevron in 2001. Petroecuador was the majority owner of the consortium in which TexPet participated until 1992 and has been the sole owner of greatly expanded oil operations in the former concession area over the past two decades.
Read Reuter's Coverage of Petroecuador's Remarks
Published: December 2011