Quito – Judicial authorities in Ecuador are preparing to inspect oil wells formerly operated by Texaco as part of a slow-moving lawsuit filed by local inhabitants in the Amazon against U.S.-based ChevronTexaco Corp. (CVX).
Efrain Novillo, the president of the court of justice in Nueva Loja, said in an interview Tuesday that authorities will begin inspections next Wednesday in the Sacha oil fields, some 200 kilometers from the capital Quito.
Inhabitants filed suit against ChevronTexaco in the Amazon town of Lago Agrio last May, after an earlier suit filed in New York failed to make much headway. The suit accuses Texaco of badly damaging the environment and the health and livelihood of indigenous communities in the region.
Cleaning up toxic wastes in the region could cost ChevronTexaco more than $5 billion and take as long as 10 years, a U.S. expert advising the plaintiffs estimated last year.
The drilling dates back several decades, before Texaco\’s 2001 merger with Chevron. Texaco formed a consortium in 1967 with state-owned Petroecuador to undertake exploration and production, and was in charge of the venture until 1990 before leaving the consortium in 1992.
As part of the evidence-gathering phase, authorities plan to carry out 120 inspections of wells in total. Novillo said the court expects to conduct around two inspections a week, which means they\’d take 15 months in all.
After the inspections are concluded, hearings will be held ahead of a preliminary ruling which could then be appealed.
ChevronTexaco has denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that it has complied with its clean-up responsibilities and that Petroecuador released it of any further obligations in 1998.
In June, the U.S. company filed suit in New York against Petroecuador to seek compensation for current and future legal costs related to the lawsuit from indigenous groups.
