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60 Minutes & Chevron

I don't normally post stuff about work, but after watching the drivel on 60 Minutes last night about the "Ecuadorian" lawsuit against Chevron, I had to relay this:


Images are of Petroecuador sites and are not Texaco-remediated sites: The images of oil pits, and oil operations in general, that “60 Minutes” used are of locations that are the sole responsibility of Petroecuador, Texaco Petroleum’s partner from the days of the consortium. “60 Minutes” knew this fact, but chose to ignore it in its reporting.

No responsibility was placed on Petroecuador: Petroecuador has been the sole operator of oil fields in Ecuador since 1992 and has compiled a well-documented record of environmental mismanagement. In addition, Petroecuador has repeatedly stated that it is responsible for the remaining cleanup work that is required in the Ecuadorian Amazon and it readily admits that it has not cleaned up the sites allocated to them under the remediation action plan 15 years ago. Again, “60 Minutes” ignored these facts in its reporting.

$27 billion damage figure is baseless and unsupported by law, facts or science: Richard Cabrera, the court-appointed engineer who made the $27 billion damage recommendation, conducted his analysis with direct support from the plaintiffs’ representatives. Cabrera arrived at the $27 billion figure at the urging of plaintiffs. Chevron provided “60 Minutes” with photos documenting this wholly improper relationship. In addition, we provided “60 Minutes” with signed checks that went directly from the plaintiffs to Cabrera. Unfortunately, “60 Minutes” did not interview Cabrera and failed to scrutinize Cabrera’s “independence.”

Evidence does not support claims: The American trial lawyers behind this case have yet to produce evidence that corroborates their claims. For instance, the water well that was featured in the story was sampled during an inspection several years ago. Neither Chevron’s nor the plaintiffs’ data show any petroleum contamination of the drinking water. Notably, the water sampling did show high levels of bacterial contamination of the water supply. The well site was also outside the area Texaco Petroleum was asked by the Government of Ecuador to remediate – a fact known, but not reported by “60 Minutes.” Also, we escorted “60 Minutes” to sites where municipal sewage was being discharged directly into the local water supply, but “60 Minutes” never used the footage.

If you want to read the whole story -- or watch the video -- you can decide for yourself.

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