Quito, Ecuador – A group of ChevronTexaco Corp. (NYSE:CVX – News) minority shareholders on Friday said they would demand explanations from the oil company about a lawsuit accusing its subsidiary of environmental damage in Ecuador’s Amazon jungle.
Trillium Asset Management and two religious groups – which combined hold less than 1 percent of shares – said they want an update on the suit accusing a Texaco subsidiary of damaging the jungle during its oil operations from 1972 to 1992.
“The shareholders demand that ChevronTexaco carry out an investigation on this issue,” said Shelley Alpern, a representative for U.S.-based Trillium, after visiting the jungle at the invitation of plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Ecuadorean Indians accuse the Texaco subsidiary of dumping oil-laden water into pits instead of re-injecting it into the ground, thus polluting rivers and streams.
ChevronTexaco says it followed accepted practices at the time and paid for a $40 million clean-up after it ended operations in the area that was approved by the Ecuadorean government.
Texaco operated in Ecuador under a partnership with state oil company Petroecuador.
Alpern said she could not assign legal responsibility for the damage but someone should be held accountable.
The landmark case was first filed a decade ago in the United States. But it returned to Ecuador last year after it was dismissed over issues of jurisdiction.
