News Releases & Statements
April 26, 2007
Statement on Government of Ecuador Officials' Visit to Oil Field Sites
Quito, Ecuador and San Ramon, Calif.-- April 26, 2007 - Officials of the Government of Ecuador toured the area of the Texaco Petroleum Company/Petroecuador oil operation in the Oriente region of the Amazon today, accompanied by representatives of the plaintiffs suing Chevron over alleged environmental contamination. Petroecuador, Ecuador's state-owned oil company, has been the exclusive owner and operator of these oil fields for over 15 years. Subsequent to the visit, Chevron issued the following statement:
"Texaco's operation in Ecuador ended in 1992. Anyone looking for the source of oil contamination of the Ecuadorian rain forest need look no further than Ecuador's state-owned oil company, Petroecuador. Petroecuador has been the owner and operator of the oil fields for more than 15 years and its history of environmental neglect and substandard operations is well documented.
"Petroecuador's responsibility cannot be credibly denied. The oil field site toured today, Shushufindi-38, is an active Petroecuador operation that has been under the company's exclusive control since 1990.
"The record demonstrates that Texaco Petroleum Company operated responsibly and carried out an effective oil field remediation program of its share of oil field sites. Furthermore, in 1998, the Government of Ecuador declared Texaco's remediation was completed according to the terms agreed upon and released Texaco and its affiliated companies from any future environmental liabilities and obligations. Subsequent scientific analysis proves that the remediated sites pose no significant oil-related risk to the people and the environment.
We strongly believe that everyone has the right to a fair trial and due process under the law where judges guarantee fundamental fairness, justice and transparency. We are naturally concerned with the recent actions of the plaintiffs' attorneys who, seemingly out of a recognition that the evidence does not support their case, have resorted to attempts to pressure the court and the government in an effort to disrupt the legal process and deny Chevron an opportunity for a fair trial."
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