In the ongoing battle between Chevron Corp. and a number of indigenous people living in the remote northern region of the Ecuadorian Amazon, known as the Oriente, the plaintiffs and their supporters this week received an interesting report commissioned by Amazon Watch and Rainforest Action Network. Entitled “An Analysis of the Financial and Operational Risks to ChevronCorporation from Aguinda v. ChevronTexaco,” the report focuses on the risks posed for the oil company in the coming years from its more than 18 year battle to avoid liability for its complicity in the devastating aftermath from oil drilling operations in that region of the South American continent.

Written by Simon Billenness and Sanford Lewis, the report is an interesting read about the efforts that a multi-national corporation will spend to avoid responsibility for its misdeeds.  Among other findings, the report noted that:

• Chevron is facing a number of financial and operational risks with regard to litigation in Ecuador in Aguinda v. ChevronTexaco concerning the company’s liability for alleged widespread contamination of soil and water.
• At present, Chevron is facing an $18 billion judgment that remains under appeal in the Ecuadorian courts. This is a historically high judgment that is comparable in size only to BP’s promised $20 billion fund to compensate victims of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
• While Chevron has admitted in sworn legal statements that the company is at risk of “irreparable injury to [its] business reputation and business relationships” from potential enforcement of the Ecuadorian court judgment, the company has failed to characterize these risks to the company in its public filings and statements to shareholders.

While the report does not contain any new revelations about the decades long dispute, what makes this worth noting is that it puts in one place a profile of Chevron’s conduct toward communities, stakeholders and shareholders. I hope that Mssrs. Lewis and Billenness keep us all apprised of developments in this ongoing battle and hopefully, can provide us with some good news sometime soon.

For a copy of this report, click here.