ECUADOR: Amazon Judge Orders Chevron To Pay $9.6 Billion Usd For Environmental Damage.

AP/M.HERALD/ 4 Screen Read Combined/
G.Solano, F.Bajak/

   Ecuadorian Judge Nicolás Zambrano in Lago Agrio ordered Chevron to pay $9.5 billion usd for polluting an area in the amazonian jungle the size of the U.S. state of Rhode Island from 1965 to 1992. 

  The 188-page ruling found Chevron responsible for damages caused by Texaco which it absorbed in 2001. 

   Judge Zambrano also said that the amount would DOUBLE if Chevron failed to publicly apologize for its actions within 15 days.  It is the highest damage award ever issued in an environmental lawsuit. 

  The case has dragged on in courts for 18 years. Chevron said it will appeal.

   BLOOMBERG reports that one expert believes that Chevron may never pay a cent of fines and penalties levied by an Ecuadorean court for environmental damage dating back to the 1960s because it doesn’t have any refineries, storage terminals, oil wells or other properties in Ecuador that could be seized. 

   Another claims "It’s cheaper for Chevron to pay the lawyers than to pay for the lawsuit. It’s a simple business case for them.” 

  But the award is surely a PR setback for Chevron which has recently been promoting itself a a "green" oil giant.

ECUADOR: Chevron Spoof Ads Admit "Abuses," Pollution.

NYTIMES/ MEDIA DECODER BLOG/
    In a series of print ads, 30-second television spots that look real, a phony website and even a press release, a fake Chevron Oil campaign admitted to "abuses that companies usually try to hide."
    The hoax ads, reportedly created by the Yes Men group, the Rainforest Action Network, along with Amazon Watch, referred to Chevron's legal problems in Ecuador, where it is being sued over massive environmental contamination in the Amazon. Over 30,000 Ecuadorian plaintiffs claim Chevron allowed billions of gallons of toxic waste to pollute the rain forest.
    "Today, activist groups have attempted to interrupt the conversation by issuing a fake press release and establishing a counterfeit website, which are not affiliated with Chevron," the real company said.

ECUADOR: Chevron Wins Right To View Raw Oil Pollution Footage.

REUTERS/    A U.S. judge has ruled that Chevron can review 600 hours of raw Ecuadorian documentary film footage shot by Maura Wogan. Chevron believes the film may contain evidence of misconduct by lawyers representing the nation in a 17-year, $27 billion dispute over oil pollution in the Amazon rain forest. Ecuador accuses Chevron of polluting the Lago Agrio area.

The Murky Ecuador/ Chevron Oil Pollution Lawsuit.

NYTIMES/
Since Chevron released secretly taped videos in a $27 billion dollar lawsuit, Ecuador and the oil company have exchanged charges, including that of espionage.

Chevron Offers Evidence of Bribery In Ecuador Lawsuit.

NYT.COM.
Chevron says that video and audio recordings obtained with bugging devices appear to implicate Ecuadoran officials and political operatives, including possibly Juan Núñez, the judge overseeing the lawsuit, and Pierina Correa, the sister of Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa in a $27 billion lawsuit over environmental damage.