Exxon, Chevron Wrestle With Latin Legal Woes

摘要

South America, a region once famously regarded as America's backyard, is turning into something of a legal minefield for the US' two biggest oil companies. Exxon Mobil's search for multibillion-dollar compensation from Venezuela following the 2007 nationalization of its assets looks increasingly forlorn, while Chevron has endured legal setbacks in recent weeks both in Brazil, where it is facing an $11 billion claim over last year's oil spill on its Frade field, and in Ecuador, where it continues to battle a labyrinthine lawsuit over alleged pollution by Texaco in the 1980s. An International Chamber of Commerce tribunal this month ordered state Petroleos de Venezuela (PDV) to pay Exxon $908 million in compensation for its 41.7% stake in the Cerro Negro Orinoco heavy oil production and upgrading venture (PIW Jan.9' 12). This was a fairly hollow victory for Exxon — the sum was a fraction of the roughly $7.5 billion plus interest and costs Exxon had been seeking for lost future earnings up to 2035, and less even than the $1.1 billion PDV agreed to pay Total and Statoil for cutting their combined stake in the Sincor venture from 62% to 40% (PIW Feb.11'08).