By Stephen W. Green, Chevron
Re: May 28 commentary, “Chevron board should face critics, not hide in Midland.”
Ecuadorian Ambassador Nathalie Cely’s recent op-ed contains glaring omissions and falsehoods. The judgment against Chevron in Ecuador was found by a U.S. federal court to be the product of fraud and racketeering, and unenforceable in the United States. The court found that those behind the lawsuit in Ecuador violated the federal RICO Act, committing extortion, money laundering, bribery and other crimes. The court also detailed the collaboration between the lawyers behind the lawsuit and top Ecuadorian authorities.
Chevron has never operated in Ecuador. Texaco Petroleum (TexPet), a Chevron subsidiary, was a minority partner in a consortium with Ecuador’s state-owned oil company, Petroecuador, until 1992. Before exiting the country, TexPet remediated its share of oil production sites and was released from future liability by the Ecuadorian government.
Any current environmental issues are the responsibility of Petroecuador, which has operated there for the past 24 years. It is unfortunate that Ecuador’s political leaders and diplomats are more interested in perpetuating a fraudulent lawsuit rather than in helping those they claim to represent.
STEPHEN W. GREEN, VICE PRESIDENT, POLICY, GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS, CHEVRON CORP., SAN RAMON, CALIF.
