Quito – ChevronTexaco Corp. (CVX) has filed suit against Ecuadorean state-oil concern Petroecuador to seek compensation for current and future legal costs after being sued by indigenous people from the Andean nation.
“We want to enforce our rights contemplated in the joint-operations contract, which established that Petroecuador will be responsible for all the fees, costs and expenditures incurred by ChevronTexaco in relation to the lawsuit against the company, including any final verdict” against ChevronTexaco, Ricardo Reis Veiga, the company’s vice-president and legal consul for Latin America told Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday.
He noted the company’s suit against Petroecuador was filed in New York last Friday.
Officials at Petroecuador declined to comment on the lawsuit, but did say they’re studying the matter.
Texaco and Ecuador’s state oil company first agreed to undertake exploration and production together in 1964, and in 1967 they formed a consortium in which Texaco had a 37.5% interest. Its Ecuadorean counterpart held the majority 62.5% stake. Texaco was in charge of the venture’s operations until 1990, and left the consortium in 1992.
The indigenous peoples’ suit against Texaco was first lodged in 1993 in New York, and last year was moved to an Ecuadorean courthouse in Lago Agrio, the area in which the consortium operated. The plaintiffs contend oil contamination has badly damaged the environment, as well as the health and livelihood of many indigenous people in the zone.
“To this date, Petroecuador has repeatedly failed to comply with its responsibilities established in the joint-operation accord, which is a binding contract. If Petroecuador had complied with its obligations, the lawsuit ( against us) wouldn’t exist. We are spending a lot of money in the company’s defense, and Petroecuador should fully reimburse us,” Reis Veiga said.
In closing agreements signed both by Petroecuador and the country’s government in 1995 and 1998, Petroecuador acknowledged that Texaco complied with the environmental remediation obligations established in the consortium’s operating accord.
According to Reis Veiga, Texaco, which merged with Chevron in 2001, will present all the contracts and closing agreements to defend itself vigorously.
