Seizure of $2 billion of Chevron
Corporation(NYSE:CVX)’s assets are now being sought by attorneys of Amazonian
Indians, as they attempt to get their hands on an $18.7 billion environmental
verdict won in Ecuador last year. Argentine lawyer Enrique Bruchou stated that
the seizure is a warning bell to all foreign investors to apply the same
environmental standards irrespective of the location of their business. He is
confident that they will secure a victory in the case.
Chevron has not agreed to pay up because it was
Texaco Petroleum that caused damages leading to contamination and illnesses
from 1972-990, a long time before Chevron made it a subsidiary in 2001. The
company has emphasized clearly that bribery is involved in the trial and the
entire lawsuit is a sham. According to them, the Ecuador verdict can’t be
enforced in any court that upholds proper legal practices.
A deal was signed by Texaco with Ecuador right
after a cleanup of $40 million, and Chevron states that this 1998 agreement
frees it of any liability and it is the Ecuador's state-run oil company, which
is the main culprit for pollution, in the patch that was abandoned by Texaco
more than 20 years ago.
Chevron produces around 26,000 barrels of crude
and 4 million cubic feet of natural gas daily in Argentina. They had agreed to
collaborate with state-run YPF oil company to develop shale reserves. YRF went
all out to get potential investors but even so, Chevron or any big oil firm has
not publicly declared that it will spend a huge amount in extraction of oil and
gas. Analysts feel that the Government of Argentina has constantly interfered
and their untimely interventions discouraged investors.
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