Chevron: the Right Hand of the Empire URGENT INFORMATION ON CHEVRONTEXACO Oilwatch, 2006 1 DEDICATION To the victims of capitalism and of the horror of the civilization created by oil To those who struggle day by day to survive, and by doing so exemplify bravery To those who do not accept falling into pragmatism, because they recognize that as a betrayal To those who do not accept realism, because it is reality that needs to be changed To those accused of being bandits, rowdy, troublemakers, rebels To those who support these struggles and do not have a heart of stone To the, ironically called, minorities: the indigenous people, women, children, and the elderly To the particular way communities struggle in joy, think with loving kindness and work passionately 2 Table of contents DEDICATION ¡ERROR! MARCADOR NO DEFINIDO. PRESENTATION ¡ERROR! MARCADOR NO DEFINIDO. INTRODUCTION ¡ERROR! MARCADOR NO DEFINIDO. WHAT IS CHEVRONTEXACO? 5 THE COMPANY’S ORIGINS 8 BIOGRAPHY OF THE COMPANIES THAT MAKE UP “CHEVRON” THE HISTORY OF CHEVRON ¡ERROR! MARCADOR NO DEFINIDO. THE HISTORY OF TEXACO ¡ERROR! MARCADOR NO DEFINIDO. THE HISTORY OF CALTEX THE HISTORY OF UNOCAL FROM THE SKY THEY WERE SEEN COMING DOWN: CHEVRONTEXACO’S HISTORY IN ECUADOR TEXACO’S ARRIVAL AT THE ECUADORIAN AMAZONIA OIL EXPLOITATION AGAINST LIFE IN THE AMAZONIA RECOVERING OF THE PEOPLE’S DIGNITY THE WORLD’S GEOPOLITICS THE ENERGY DEPENDENCY OF THE UNITED STATES THE UNITED STATES’ STRATEGY RESERVES AND COSTS OF EXTRACTION CONTROL OVER NEW OIL DEPOSITS PIERCING THE VEIL: THE UNMASKING OF CHEVRONTEXACO IN NIGER ILAJE COMMUNITY OPIA AND IKENYAN COMMUNITIES CHEVRONTEXACO’S INTERNAL STRATEGIES THE COMPANIES’ MERGER TECHNOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS PLANETARY EXPANSION UNOCAL IN BURMA THE YADANA PIPELINE HAS DIRECTLY CAUSED GROSS AND HORRIFIC HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES THE YADANA PIPELINE LED TO A LANDMARK LAWSUIT AGAINST UNOCAL YADANA PIPELINE LED TO FORCED LABOR FORCED LABOUR IN THE PIPELINE CONTINUES TODAY THE YADANA PIPELINE SUPPORTS ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST BRUTAL REGIMES THE YADANA PIPELINE WILL BRING NEW CONTROVERSY TO CHEVRONTEXACO STRATEGIES FOR THE CONTROL OF NATIONAL ECONOMIES CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE MILITARY CALTEX - A HISTORY OF POVERTY AND A THREAT TO SOVEREIGNTY ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION STRUGGLING FOR PROFIT SHARING AND DEMANDS FOR FREEDOM LAND TAKEOVER AND LABOUR CONFLICTS LABOUR CONFLICTS THE SAKAI TRIBE: THROWN AWAY AND DISCARDED DEMANDING LAND RIGHTS PROTECTING FOREIGN INVESTORS AND VIOLATING HUMAN RIGHTS 3 TOXIC WASTE CONTAMINATION WITHOUT A LEGAL PROCESS STRATEGIES WITH THE COMMUNITIES CHARITY TO CREATE LOCAL DEPENDENCY NEW SOCIAL DEPENDENCY THROUGH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT EIGHTY YEARS OF TEXACO IN COLOMBIA THE MOST UNDESIRABLE OLD MAN LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY VERSUS IMPUNITY: THE CASE OF NIGERIA AND ECUADOR THE LAWSUIT AGAINST CHEVRONTEXACO IN ECUADOR I. BACKGROUND II. THE POLLUTING METHODS USED BY TEXACO III. THE DAMAGES AND THE PEOPLE AFFECTED IV. TEXACO’S RESPONSIBILITY V. THE LEGAL FOUNDATION VI. THE PRETENSE THE JUDICIAL CASE IN NIGERIA COURT BATTLES CHEVRON’S DEFENSE AND MOTIONS FOR A SUMMARY JUDGEMENT PLAINTIFF’S ARGUMENTS SATATEMENT OF FACTS MILESTONE RULING READING THE JUDGEMENT THE NEW CHEVRONTEXACO STRATEGY ¡ERROR! MARCADOR NO DEFINIDO. OPEN LETTER FROM OILWATCH (2003) EPILOGUE BIBLIOGRAPHY Introduction In January 2001, five conservation non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and four oil companies subscribed to what they termed “Biodiversity and Energy Initiative” (EBI), to produce guides, instruments and models with the purpose of integrating the 4 biodiversity component to the gas and oil extraction activities. The ten original members of this initiative were BP, ChevronTexaco, Enron, Shell, and Statoil for the industry and Conservation International (CI), Fauna & Flora International, IUCN-The World Conservation Union, Smithsonian Institution and The Nature Conservancy for the environmental organizations. Later Enron left this initiative. As a part of this initiative, the document “Integrating Biodiversity Conservation to the Oil and Gas Development” (EBI, 2003), in which they affirmed that it was not only possible to reconcile oil activity with conservation but also possible that oil companies could help improve the conservation of biological diversity. ChevronTexaco as well as the other oil companies with this initiative try to build an image of being socially and environmentally responsible. Nevertheless, everyone internationally knows their history and current operations as environmentally disastrous and socially violent, even the companies are aware of this fact. For that reason at the ChevronTexaco shareholders meeting, held in April 2005, a resolution was taken, which tried to cover with a veil the collective memory by eliminating the word “Texaco” from the consortiums’ name. The image of the star, cultivated and promoted over 100 years, had become so marred it was better to black it out entirely. That is why today the company wishes to be called Chevron. Under this emblem, Texaco’s, Unocal’s, and Chevron’s environmental impacts are concealed. In this book, we will examine some of the most well known environmental disasters and human rights violations drawn from far-flung countries like Nigeria, Angola, Indonesia, Burma, Ecuador, and Colombia. What is ChevronTexaco? ChevronTexaco is one of the most powerful but evil oil companies in the world, who accumulated power based on military strategy, monopoly, and interventionism. ChevronTexaco inherited both a culture of monopoly, total control, and conspiracy, which marked Chevron’s history, and the anxiety for planetary expansion through the hydrocarbon product lines, which are Texaco’s trademark. This company bases its power on the reserves it owns, which is equivalent to about 11 billon barrels of oil and gas. However, who are the real owners of these reserves Companies claim as theirs? States own reserves and based on this “collateral” make banks, governments, multilateral institutions, and service provider companies work for them. Chevron Texaco extracts the equivalent of 2.7 million barrels of oil and gas per day. Just in the first semester of 2005, it made 2.7 billion dollars (2.1 billion euros), 4.5% more than the year before (Expansion 2005). Their footprints on the planet go beyond the profit they generate. They sit on thousands of hectares (or acres) onshore and offshore places where they have destroyed nature. In order to extract that oil and gas, ChevronTexaco would have thrown up to 5 million tons 5 of different types of waste materials and 1.2 million tons of CO2 a day into the environment. ChevronTexaco has operations in 180 of the existing 200 countries. Their geopolitical strategy is very expansive, especially with their oil sales and fuel distribution. This company is proficient in penetrating the global market, and taking control of the economies of the many countries where they operate. Above all, ChevronTexaco aims to take control of the United States government- a country whose energy policy and therefore security policy aid the www.ChevronTexaco.com company. The company’s “success” is rooted in their capacity to forge alliances, use pressure, extort and finally sell their image. Nevertheless, their word is valueless and tactless. For instance, the company insults the truth in each document they issue as can be seen in this affirmation published on its webpage: "…to conduct business in a socially responsible and ethical manner…to support universal human rights…to protect the environment, to benefit the communities where we work… learn from and respect the cultures where we work." (ChevronTexaco, 2005). ChevronTexaco tries to get rid of or to weaken reports they perceive as being against them. They talk about benefits given to communities and governments by the creation of jobs. Nevertheless, none of the benefits they claim to offer to the governments is ever accomplished. The company’s legal trouble due to tax evasion and employment cannot be measured against the peoples’ livelihoods they have destroyed, because they destroyed their survival base. It is little wonder why the countries where the company extract crude oil are those countries with the lowest indexes of human development. The company does not only avoid taking responsibility for their actions but also manages a simple ‘solution’ to confront the demands of the local societies where they operate. When they are negotiating permits and trying to eliminate resistances, they offer everything States do not provide to their citizens, but when the people complain because of the failure to deliver those offers, and the environmental damage provoked by their operations, due to destruction of property and human rights violations, the company turns around and blames the State. It is a win-win situation for ChevronTexaco. For the local communities, the company’s presence is characterised by abuse and destruction. Nigeria and Ecuador are clear examples of this; although in public, they 6 claim they bring benefits to the people by displaying several projects, which are presented as a charitable image of the company. ChevronTexaco maintain they invested 50 million dollars worldwide in social development programs. These investments are often directed to countries such as Mexico, Venezuela and Kazajstan where the company is trying to consolidate their presence. Their first step is the start up of a privatization process of the oil industry. It is not difficult to realize that this is not a social investment project policy, but rather one of