23 Feb 2005

Court Learns How Petroecuador Oil Spills Polluted White River

Petroecuador Spilled More Than 3.6 Million Gallons Since 1990

Poor Maintenance and Operations at Sacha Central to Blame

NUEVA LOJA, Ecuador, February 23, 2005 - As several assistants unfolded an 10-foot long official Petroecuador map documenting its massive oil spill in 2003, ChevronTexaco attorney Adolfo Callejas presented irrefutable evidence of the environmental consequences of Petroecuador's poor operations during today´s Judicial Inspection of the Sacha Central Production Station.

A long, winding black line on the map starkly illustrated how more than six miles of the Rio Blanco - Spanish for "White River" - along with portions of the Huamayacu, Rumiyacu and Napo Rivers were polluted after an oil storage tank collapsed at the station 13 years after Petroecuador took over operations. Although Petroecuador claimed the spill was 714,000 gallons, news reports at the time estimated the spill at nearly 2.5 million gallons.

The map was one of numerous copies of official Petroecuador records presented by ChevronTexaco to President of the Superior Court of Nueva Loja Efrain Novillo that document the state-owned oil company's horrendous environmental record.

More highlights:

  • Callejas reminded the court that Petroecuador must assume its responsibility for the environmental damage at Sacha Central and other areas it has contaminated by causing two of the largest oil spills in the history of Ecuador. Three years before the spill that polluted the White River, nearly 1.2 million gallons were spilled when another Petroecuador tank failed due to corrosion.
  • During the inspection of Sacha Central Judge Novillo could observe that, despite having equipment to send produced water to another location for reinjection, Petroecuador was improperly discharging produced water into a nearby stream. Several times during the inspection, vacuum trucks dumped oil and other products into a pit that ultimately empties into the same stream.
  • Texaco Petroleum Company (Texpet) remediated two areas of contaminated soil at Sacha Central, equivalent to 207 cubic meters, using silica encapsulation technology in September 1996, according to the Remedial Action Plan agreed to by the government of Ecuador.

ChevronTexaco is defending itself in a lawsuit brought by North American lawyers alleging environmental and health damages resulting from the involvement of Texaco Petroleum Company (Texpet) as a minority partner in an oil consortium with Petroecuador. Texpet ceased its operatorship in 1990 and exited all oil-producing activities in Ecuador in 1992, while Petroecuador has owned and operated the fields exclusively for the past twelve years. Today's inspection was the 18th in a series of 122 inspections the Court began in August 2004.

Back to top