17 Feb 2005

Official Government Documents Prove Petroecuador Is Solely Responsible for Sacha-85

NUEVA LOJA, Ecuador, February 17, 2005 - The President of the Superior Court of Nueva Loja today conducted the Judicial Inspection of the Sacha 85 well site, which was requested by ChevronTexaco, as part of the environmental lawsuit against the company in Ecuador. Sacha-85 is an active producing well operated exclusively by Petroecuador since 1990.

Four pits existed at this site, which were excluded from the Remediation Scope of Work of Texaco Petroleum Company (Texpet) for different reasons. Pits 1 and 2 were closed in 1990 and 1995 by Petroecuador, before the initiation of the Plan of Environmental Remediation by Texaco Petroleum Company (Texpet) and, in accordance with the Remediation Plan, were excluded from the Scope of Work. Laboratory analysis of Pit 3 conducted by the Central University of Ecuador encountered no contamination and it was determined no remediation was required. Finally, the Government of Ecuador directed that Pit 4, a water pit, did not require remediation and should be left open for use by the local community. Since these pits were excluded from the Remediation Plan, any hydrocarbon contamination at the site is the sole responsibility of Petroecuador.

Highlights of the day:

  • Adolfo Callejas, attorney for ChevronTexaco, assigned responsibility for any hydrocarbon contamination that might be in the area of Sacha-85 to Petroecuador who assumed operations in 1990. He also stated that, as has been the case at previous inspections, at Sacha-85 the state-owned oil company had performed several well reconditioning work-overs (August 1992, October 1992, July 1993, February 1994 and March 1998). All of these work-overs were performed by Petroecuador after it became the sole owner and operator of the well.
  • Additionally, Alberto Racines, attorney for ChevronTexaco, presented to the Court official documents from Petroecuador and the Minstry of Energy and Mines, recording oil spills at Sacha-85 that occurred January 2 and February 5, 1998, which were remediated by Petroproduction, a subsidiary of Petroecuador.
  • Callejas emphasized that, to date, the plaintiffs still have not presented any evidence showing the activities of the Petroecuador-Texaco Consortium caused any impact to human health. ¨To date, no scientific basis exists that demonstrates any relationship between the health of the residents and any contamination that might be found in the area of the former consortium,¨ said Callejas to the President of the Court.
  • During the inspection Racines presented as evidence an article published in the newspaper El Comercio on February 4, 2005, with the headline ¨The Waste of 19 Counties Contaminate the Northern Amazon.¨ According to the article, 19 of the 20 counties of Sucumbios, Orellana, Napo and Pastaza provinces are polluted with solid wastes. "Nueva Loja produces 20 tons per day, including the garbage generated by the workers´ camps." ¨This is the main cause of contamination in the region,¨ said Racines.

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