Ecuador tries to balance legal issues with exploration

摘要

Quito, Ecuador—After a 20-year courtroom saga, lawyers for several dozen Ecuadoreans suing Chevron see a ruling this week as the start of compensation for their clients. But it comes as the country struggles to balance its legal battles with a goal to enlist oil companies to open a vast area of Amazon territory to exploration. The renewed negative legal news comes days before the government plans to launch a tender of new oil blocks. It has short-listed public and private companies as interested in the area in the Pastaza and Morona-Santiago provinces, but analysts say they are skeptical of private sector interest, particularly because of the government’s objections to international arbitration.