01 Dec 2005

Court Observes Sources of Environmental Contamination Entirely Unassociated with Texaco's Petroleum Operations During the Inspection of Lago Agrio-2

Local Resident Confirms That Area is Contaminated by Trash and Discharge From Nearby Neighbors

Multiple Petroecuador Site Workovers Documented and New Petroecuador Installations Visible Over Texpet-Remediated Sites

Texaco's Remediation of Pit 1 Confirmed

Nueva Loja, December 1, 2005 - The 33rd Judicial Inspection, out of 122 scheduled, was carried out today in Lago Agrio-2 amidst lush vegetation at a well located only 15 minutes away from the city's downtown center. During the visit to this site, Chevron's lawyers demonstrated numerous instances of environmental pollution in the area entirely unrelated to operations of the former PETROECUADOR-Texaco consortium. These claims were verified through an interview with a colono who lives in the vicinity.

Other Highlights:

  • During the inspection, Chevron's lawyers presented a series of photographs showing how black waters from the city of Lago Agrio flow into the Orienco River through the sewage system. This river joins the Teteyé which flows very close to the Lago Agrio-02 well.
  • Chevron's legal team also presented a video with an interview with Carlos Katani, a colono who has lived near the well for the past 12 years. During the interview, Katani mentioned that the Teteyé River is polluted with waste that is discharged from the Cooperative April 12. He also denounced the theft of pipelines and the occurrence of oil spills in the area over the past few years.
  • From the moment Texpet concluded its participation in the Consortium in 1992, 14 workovers have been conducted at the Lago Agrio-2 well, which are known to discharge oil and chemical substances into the environment. In 2003, an evaluation of the well was made through a system of artificial lifting to see if it was still productive. A gas burner was placed on the ground, directly above the pit that had been remediated by Texpet in 1996, that is still in use today. This provides further proof of the fact that Petroecuador solely responsible for any environmental impact caused by hydrocarbons in this area.
  • During the visit to the area, the Superior Court was able to verify the remediation work that was performed by Texpet at this site. The work was approved by the Ecuadorian Government through official Actas on July 24, 1996, and November 22, 1996.

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