10 Nov 2004

Sacha-13 Inspection Clearly Shows PetroEcuador's Irresponsible Management of Environmental Condition of its Sites

NUEVA LOJA, Ecuador, November 10, 2004 - The inspection of Sacha-13, an active PetroEcuador site, gave Nueva Loja Superior Court President Efraín Novillo an opportunity to observe firsthand some of the poor environmental conditions that the state-owned oil company has maintained at its facilities and surrounding areas for over twelve years, ChevronTexaco announced today. Plaintiffs in the environmental lawsuit filed against the company requested the inspection of Sacha-13, even though this site was not included in the Remedial Action Plan signed between Texaco Petroleum Company (Texpet) and the government of Ecuador.

The remediation of Sacha-13 was not the responsibility of Texpet, which means that PetroEcuador is solely responsible for the environmental conditions of the site, according to the agreement signed between Texpet and the Government of Ecuador in its May 4, 1995 Contract, "Scope of Environmental Remedial Work" and corresponding "Official Inventory" attachment. To this day, Petroecuador has yet to fully account for its obligation to remediate the sites corresponding to its majority share of the consortium as required by the government of Ecuador.

Among the Highlights:

  • During the inspection, Judge Novillo observed oil stains produced by spills in the southeast area of the wellhead, attributed to the recent workovers conducted at the site by PetroEcuador (Dates: January 25, 1993; April 17, 1993; April 19, 1993; February 1, 2000; February 1, 2002; April 10, 2003).
  • ChevronTexaco´s lawyer, Dr. Adolfo Callejas, demonstrated to the judge how, because of a natural decline in the ground's topography, chemicals used during the workover flow into the River Pimampiro. The river is also affected by PetroEcuador'd oil operations in the Sacha-116 and Sacha-130 oilfields, which also crosses the course of the river.
  • The President of the Superior Court also observed a recent oil spill mentioned by the owner of a nearby farm in his testimony as a witness for the plaintiffs. Counsel for ChevronTexaco explained that the spills' contaminating effects could only be attributed to PetroEcuador, or possibly to the custom of tenant farmers to break the pipeline in order to obtain compensation from the state-owned company.
  • As he has done many times previously, Callejas noted the need for experts from both sides to comply with the correct, agreed-upon sampling and analysis procedures. To that end, Callejas asked that plaintiffs' analysis include not only samples that contain oil, but also clean samples - since up until now the practice has been to simply reject them.
  • Finally, counsel for ChevronTexaco reiterated the fact that the inspection of Sacha-13 offers further proof that the actions of those backing the plaintiffs are solely directed against ChevronTexaco and not against PetroEcuador, regardless of their clear responsibility.
  • Callejas added, "Surely they consider that because PetroEcuador is a state-owned company, perhaps lacking essential economic solvency, that it doesn't suit their interests to file a lawsuit against the one responsible."

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