Inspection
by environmental experts confirms Texaco conducted effective cleanup
in compliance with obligations
Posted: 1 April 2004
Inspectors Observe Evidence of Hydrocarbons due to PetroEcuador's
Continuing Operations, and Outside of Texaco's Area of Responsibility.
PetroEcuador has yet to Give Full Accounting of
its Environmental Performance
ChevronTexaco and its subsidiary Texaco Petroleum Company (TexPet)
today announced that they have completed an inspection of all of
the oil production sites that it had cleaned as part of its agreement
with the Ecuadorian government -- and which are subject to upcoming
judicial inspection -- and found each to be in good condition and
cleaned in accordance with government requirements.
The inspection was performed in connection to the lawsuit filed
in July 2003 by residents of the Oriente seeking environmental relief
and remediation arising from oil production activities in the region.
TexPet exited all oil producing activities in the country in 1992.
As part of the inspection process, a team of environmental experts
commissioned by ChevronTexaco, including representatives from URS
Corporation (an internationally recognized firm specializing in
environmental remediation), conducted inspections of the sites cleaned
by TexPet, and found no evidence of hydrocarbon contamination. Such
findings support the positions that ChevronTexaco has asserted in
the Superior Court in Nuevo Loja, which is hearing the case.
During the course of the recent inspections, the environmental
experts also observed visible evidence of contamination at locations
that were outside the TexPet's area of responsibility, or that are
associated with ongoing operations managed by PetroEcuador.
Rodrigo Perez, legal representative of Texaco Petroleum Company,
summarized the findings by saying, "Our team of experts re-visited
all of the sites cleaned up by TexPet that will be similarly be
inspected by the court. What they concluded was that TexPet carried
out an effective cleanup program in full accordance with its obligations
to the Ecuadorian government. Any hydrocarbons or pollution found
were either outside of the area of TexPet's responsibility as directed
by the government, or clearly the result of the continuing oil operations
of PetroEcuador and oil activities occurring long after the company
stopped operating in Ecuador in 1990."
Perez continued, "These findings underscore the truth behind
what we've been saying all along: TexPet acted responsibly, in accordance
with existing environmental laws and practices and conducted a thorough
cleanup of its share of sites. The Ecuadorian government and PetroEcuador
verified that we had fulfilled our responsibilities when they approved
the cleanup and released us from all future liabilities in 1998,
and now we have further proof confirming these facts.
"At the same time," Perez added, "We find it disturbing
that plaintiffs' American attorneys have failed to address -- and
have in fact, completely ignored -- PetroEcuador's cleanup obligations
even though the state-owned oil company, as a Consortium member,
was responsible for its share of required cleanup and has been the
sole operator in the former Consortium oil fields for the past 14
years.
Plaintiffs in this case make no effort to distinguish between environmental
damage alleged to have taken place during TexPet's participation
in the Consortium with PetroEcuador and potential damage from ongoing
operations by PetroEcuador and others over the past 14 years.
In the context of this lawsuit, plaintiffs have no justification
to simply point at a pit and blame TexPet. We hope that a thorough
and honest evaluation of the facts will help focus attention on
this important matter."
The findings from the site visits comes in addition to facts already
documented by the company in its filings about the case:
Internationally Recognized Environmental Firms Found that Texaco
Acted Responsibly and in Accordance with Internationally Accepted
Operating Practices
Two globally accredited environmental auditing firms HBT AGRA Ltd.
and Fugro-McClelland (hired by the government of Ecuador and TexPet
respectively) concluded in 1993 that all exploration and production
activities had been made in strict accordance with existing environmental
laws, using globally accepted operating practices, and that any
petroleum contamination was minimal and focused.
The Fugro-McLelland audit also concluded that most of the hydrocarbon
contamination found at the wellheads occurred post 1990 -- after
TexPet transferred its operations to PetroEcuador. According to
the final report, fully 70 per cent of the hydrocarbon contamination
in the production installations, and 50 per cent of the soil hydrocarbon
contamination in the drilling platforms and of the pools "…
was attributable to the operations of PetroAmazonas (PetroEcuador's
subsidiary) from 1990 to 1992."
TexPet Spent $40 Million to Clean Up its Share of Sites
Starting in 1995 and ending in 1998, TexPet fulfilled its obligations
and cleaned up all of the sites it was responsible for under its
agreement with the government of Ecuador and PetroEcuador.
This included the following activities:
- Closed and remediated 161 well pits and 7 overflow areas
- Plugged and abandoned 18 wells
- Remediated soil at 36 sites
- Installed 3 produced water treatment and reinjection systems,
and
- provided PetroEcuador with equipment for 10 additional stations
- Designed 3 oil containment systems at storage facilities
- Conducted extensive replanting of native vegetation at the cleaned
sites.
Texaco Petroleum also funded social and health programs throughout
the region of operations, such as medical dispensaries and sewage
and potable water systems.
The scope of work and techniques used to clean up these sites were
completely pre-approved by the Ecuadorian government through the
Subsecretaria de Medio Ambiente of the Ministry of Energy and Mines,
and by representatives of PetroEcuador. All of the remediation activities
were conducted in accordance with the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (USEPA), American Petroleum Institute (API), and other international
standards, and hydrocarbon levels at each site were independently
verified by the Universidad Central de Ecuador before acceptance.
While TexPet Has Confirmed Clean Up of the Agreed Upon Oil Sites,
PetroEcuador Has Not Documented Clean Up Efforts Performed on Its
Remaining Share
According to its agreement with the Ecuadorian government, TexPet
was responsible for site cleanup in equal measure to its minority
participation in the Consortium. The rest of the cleanup effort,
corresponding to its majority ownership of the consortium, is the
exclusive obligation of PetroEcuador.
Although initial audit reports estimated determined that $13 million
USD would be required to clean up all of the consortium sites, TexPet
ultimately expended $40 million USD in the remediation program to
clean up its fair share.
PetroEcuador has yet to deliver a full and public accounting of
what it has done to clean up its share of the sites.
Both The Government and PetroEcuador Freed TexPet From All Environmental
Liability
On September 30, 1998, the government of Ecuador and the President
of PetroEcuador signed the "Final Act of Final Liberation of
Claims and Equipment Delivery," recognizing that TexPet had
fulfilled all of its cleanup obligations and releasing TexPet from
all future liabilities. All further cleanup is the exclusive responsibility
of PetroEcuador in accordance with the joint operating agreement
between TexPet and PetroEcuador and existing environmental laws.
For more information see http://www.chevrontexaco.com/
Posted by Richard Price,
Editor Pipeline Magazine
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