Ecolex Logo
The gateway to
environmental law
Search results » Jurisprudence

Maria Aquinda v Chevron.

Country/Territory
Ecuador
Type of court
National - lower court
Date
Feb 14, 2011
Source
UNEP, InforMEA
Court name
CORTE PROVINCIAL DE JUSTICIA SUCUMBIOS
Seat of court
Nueva Loja
Judge
ZAMBRANO LOSADA
Language
Spanish
Subject
Energy, Environment gen.
Keyword
Liability/compensation Oil pollution
Abstract
Residents of Ecuador's Amazon region have said faulty drilling practices by Texaco, which was bought by Chevron in 2001, caused damage to wide areas of jungle and harmed indigenous people in the 1970s and 1980s. Texaco first struck oil in Ecuador in 1967 and started pumping in 1972 as part of a consortium with the state. The company operated in Ecuador until 1990. Soon after, it turned its share of the consortium over to the Ecuadorean government State oil company Petroecuador, that has continued drilling in the area. The Ecuadorians believe that Chevron, between 1960 and 1992 dumped 18 billion gallons of toxic substances into earth pits which have leached into the Amazon River basin and damaged crops, wildlife, the rain forest and caused risks of cancer among the indigenous population. Chevron denied the claim. Farmers say they cannot raise crops or livestock in these areas due to the contamination and accused Texaco, bought by Chevron in 2001, of damaging the forest and their health after two decades of drilling. . Since 1993, Ecuador has filed lawsuits and demanded that the oil company pay for destroying the jungle, polluting the local environment and damaging the health of natives. The Ecuadorians started proceedings in Lago Agrio in Ecuador and Chevron sought to have the proceedings brought only in the United States, but after a ten year series of lawsuits in the USA, the American courts decided that the claim should be brought in Ecuador. Chevron and plaintiffs have agreed that oil exploration contaminated what had been largely undeveloped swaths of Ecuadorean rainforest. The plaintiffs claim that Chevron must be held responsible for damage where Texaco once operated. Chevron, however, argues that Texaco carried out a cleanup agreement with the Ecuadorean government and that much of the damage was done after Texaco left in the early 1990s, actions for which it should not be held responsible. The company says Texaco cleaned up its share of the pollution at its former oil fields, which were taken over by PetroEcuador, Ecuador’s state-owned oil company. Chevron says it was released from any future liability by an agreement between Texaco and Ecuador. By this 188-page ruling , the Ecuadorian judge has found Chevron responsible for damages of about $8.6 billion, and perhaps double that amount if Chevron fails to publicly apologize for its actions within 15 days. The judge also ordered Chevron to pay $860 million, or 10 percent of the damages, to the Amazon Defence Coalition, the group formed to represent the plaintiffs. Chevron's response to the lawsuit has been negative. They claim that the current judgment is "illegitimate" and will continue to fight the fines awarded to Ecuador by the court. A bigger question now surrounds enforcement of the ruling, since Chevron has no assets in Ecuador and both a U.S. judge and an international panel ordered the plaintiffs not to try to collect on any judgment, at least not soon.