The

True Cost
of Chevron
An Alternative Annual Report
May 2009
Table of Contents
(Unless otherwise noted, all pieces written by Antonia Juhasz)

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

I. Chevron Corporate, Political and Economic Overview

Map of Global Operations and Corporate Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Political Influence and Connections:
How Chevron Spreads its Money Around . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Sex, Bribes, and Paintball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
General James L. Jones: Chevron’s Oil Man in the White House . . . . 4
William J. Haynes: Chevron’s In-House “Torture Lawyer” . . . . . . . . . 5
J. Stephen Griles: Current Convict—Ex Chevron Lobbyist . . . . . . . . . 5
Banking on California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Squeezing Consumers at the Pump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chevron’s Hype on Alternative Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

II. The United States

Alaska, Trustees for Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Drilling off of America’s Coasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming’s Oil Shale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Richmond, California Refinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Pascagoula, Mississippi Refinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Perth Amboy, New Jersey Refinery, CorpWatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Chevron Sued for Massive Underground Brooklyn Oil Spill . . . . . . . 19
Salt Lake City Utah Refinery Lawsuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

III. Around the World

Angola, Mpalabanda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Burma, EarthRights International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Cover photo LEFT: Fire burning at
Canada, Rainforest Action Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 the Chevron refinery in Pascagoula,
Mississippi, photograph by Christy
Chad-Cameroon, Antonia Juhasz edits Environmental Defense, Pritchett ran on August 17, 2007.
Center for Environment & Development, Chadian Association Courtesy of the Press-Register 2007
for the Promotion of Defense of Human Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 © All rights reserved. Reprinted
with permission. RIGHT: Ecuadorian
Ecuador, Amazon Watch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
workers at former Texaco oil waste pit
Iraq, Antonia Juhasz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 in Ecuador, photographed by Mitchell
Anderson, January 2008.
Kazakhstan, Crude Accountability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Nigeria, Environmental Rights Action/
Friends of the Earth Nigeria and Justice in Nigeria Now . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Each participating organization and
contributing author or editor is solely
Philippines, Filipino-American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity . . . . 38 responsible for the content that they
have contributed under the portions
of this report expressly attributed to
IV. City Resolutions/Divestment Campaigns Against Chevron . . . . . . . 40 them; they do not necessarily endorse,
assume no liability for, and are not
V. Chevron’s Obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 responsible for, the content of any
portion of this report attributed to any
VI. Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 other organization or author, and make
no warranties that such content is
VII. Endnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 accurate. The editor and all participating
Note: Due to space constraints, the print version of this report is not fully organizations and authors are jointly
endnoted. The fully sourced version (including endnote weblinks) is posted at responsible for the content of the
www.TrueCostofChevron.com. introduction and recommendations.
 INTRODUCTION

Chevron’s 2008 Annual Report to its shareholders is a glossy celebration heralding the compa-
ny’s most profitable year in its history. Its $24 billion in profits catapulted it past General Electric to become
the second most profitable corporation in the United States. Its 2007 revenues were larger than the gross
domestic product (GDP) of 150 nations.
What Chevron’s Annual Report does not tell its sharehold- of communities within which it operates, there can be real
ers is the true cost paid for those financial returns: the lives lost, financial repercussions.
wars fought, communities destroyed, environments decimated, The world sits on a precipice. Oil is running out. The
livelihoods ruined, and political voices silenced. oil that is left is found in more environmentally, socially, and
Nor does it describe the global resistance movement gain- politically sensitive areas and is more hotly contested.
ing voice and strength against these operations. Chevron contends in its 2008 Annual Report that “Meet-
Thus, we, the communities and our allies who bear the ing future demand will be one of the world’s great challenges—
consequences of but one that
Chevron’s oil and Chevron is
natural gas pro- convinced can
duction, refiner- be met in an
ies, depots, pipe- environmentally
lines, exploration, responsible way.”
offshore drilling Nothing in this
rigs, coal fields, report supports
chemical plants, such a conten-
political control, tion. Nor does
consumer abuse, it indicate that
false promises, Chevron will be
and much more, able (or seek) to
have prepared an do so in a man-
Alternative An- ner that protects
nual Report for social, political,
Chevron. or human rights.
Our account While
reveals the true spending, at best,
impact of just a less than 3 per-
handful of Chev- cent of its capital
ron’s operations in and exploratory
the United States budget on green
in communities energy in 2008,
across Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, the Gulf Coast, Chevron may wish to market itself as an “alternative energy”
Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Utah, Washington, D.C, company that is “part of the solution,” but few truly believe its
and Wyoming; internationally across Angola, Burma, Canada, hype. Rather, the movements to embrace real energy alterna-
Chad, Cameroon, Ecuador, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, and the tives and hold Chevron to a full account for its disastrous ac-
Philippines. These accounts are demonstrative, not inclusive. tions is gaining far greater currency than the company’s billions
We would need 100 reports to take account of all such impacts. can ultimately withstand.
These accounts include active lawsuits against the company The costs associated with extracting what is left of the
from across the country and around the world, totalling in the world’s oil will only rise. We ask readers to view these costs not
tens of billions of dollars, which threaten its vaulted financial as abstract issues but as factors that directly harm the lives of
gains. For when a company operates in blatant disregard real people all across the planet, including your own. And to
for the health, security, livelihood, safety, and environment know that change is coming.

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 1

 Chevron global operations

Compiled by Sam Edmondson from Chevron materials.

Onshore oil Offshore oil
and/or gas operation and/or gas operation Refinery Pipeline
(country, not exact location) (approximate location)

Chevron 2nd largest U.S. oil company, 3rd largest U.S. corporation, 4th largest global oil
company, 6th largest global corporation (by revenue).
Ch e vro n Co rp o r at e B asics

World Headquarters San Ramon, California, USA

CEO David O’Reilly, 15th highest paid U.S. CEO with nearly $50 million in total 2008
compensation. Over $120 million over the last 5 years. (Forbes)
Corporate Website www.chevron.com
Profits $23.9 billion in 2008 profits, the highest in company history, and a 28% increase from
2007. Profits have increased every year since 2002, increasing 2100% from 2002 to
2008.
Oil Reserves 7.5 billion (just behind Exxon’s 11 billion and BP’s 10 billion) reserves. Produces
& Production: nearly 3 million barrels of oil per day. Together, Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP,
ConocoPhillips, Shell, and Marathon produce more oil than Saudi Arabia—about
13% of the world’s total oil supply for 2006.
Operations Operates in 120 countries. Explores for, produces, refines, transports, and markets
oil, natural gas, and gasoline. Major operations also include chemical, coal mining,
and power generation companies.

History & Mergers In 1876, Star Oil Works struck oil in southern California. The Pacific Coast Oil
Company acquired the company a few years later, followed by John D. Rockefeller’s
Standard Oil Company in 1900—naming it the Standard Oil Company of California
(SoCal) in 1906. In 1911 the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the break-up of Standard
Oil; SoCal was the third largest post-breakup company. In 1985 SoCal bought
Gulf Oil—the largest merger in U.S. history at that time—and changed its name to
“Chevron.” In 2001 Chevron bought Texaco (which had purchased the giant Getty
Oil in 1984). Briefly called “ChevronTexaco,” it went back to “Chevron” in 2005, the
same year it purchased the Union Oil Company of California (Unocal).

2 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

 POLITICAL INFLUENCE AND CONNECTIONS:
HOW CHEVRON SPREADS ITS MONEY AROUND

Federal Elections ests of Chevron and Big Oil, earning him the number one spot
on the League of Conservation Voters’ “Dirty Dozen” Members
Chevron is among the all-time largest corporate contribu- of Congress list for 2006, the same year that public outrage
tors to U.S. federal elections, giving more than $10.5 million voted him out of office.
since 1990—75% of which went to Republican candidates.1 Until 2008, 2000 was the oil and gas industry’s most
Chevron’s campaign giving reflects its areas of operations expensive election year ever recorded. On the eve of its Texaco
and key congressional committees. All but four of its 20 all- merger, Chevron gave more than any other oil company to
time top recipients are Republicans, including Don Young of federal campaigns, with George W. Bush being its favorite
Alaska, Trent Lott, Tom DeLay, Kay Bailey Hutchison, and Phil candidate. Chevron and its employees contributed six times
Gramm of Texas, Craig Thomas of Wyoming, and Bill Thomas more money to George W. Bush’s candidacy than to Al Gore’s.
of California. Among the four Democrats is oil-rich Louisiana’s Chevron also gave to the Bush-Cheney 2001 Presidential
senator, Mary Landrieu. Inaugural Committee, including a $100,000 donation by CEO
But California is the site of Chevron’s world headquarters David O’Reilly.
as well as of half its domestic production and two of its six For its investment, the company received not only an oil
refineries, making it the primary focus of Chevron’s campaign government but also one of its own in the President’s inner
giving. Thus, among Chevron’s top 20 list of all-time-highest circle. Condoleezza Rice, first appointed Bush’s National Secu-
recipients are senior Senator Dianne Feinstein and Representa- rity Advisor and then Secretary of State, served on Chevron’s
tive Ellen Tauscher of California, both Democrats. Until very board of directors from 1991 to 2001 and chaired its Public
recently, Chevron’s number one all-time recipient was Republi- Policy Committee. A Chevron supertanker was named in her
can congressman Richard Pombo, who represented San Ramon, honor, the SS Condoleezza Rice.
the location of Chevron’s world headquarters, for 14 years. As The oil and gas industry’s 2008 federal election spending
Chairman of the House Resources Committee, Pombo did topped all its previous records, reaching nearly $35 million,
more than just about any other politician to support the inter- 77% of which went to Republicans. Chevron was the third

Sex, Bribes, and Paintball:

Chevron and the U.S. Department of Interior
In September 2008 the U.S. De- working part-time as private oil consul- five-year investigation period. The
partment of Interior’s (DOI) Inspector tants, and having sexual relationships gifts included meals, drinks, tickets
General found that staff of the Miner- with—and accepting improper gifts to athletic games, and a day playing
als Management Service had accepted from—oil company employees. The in- paintball. One government employee
thousands of dollars in industry gifts, vestigations revealed a “culture of sub- admitted to a romantic relationship
used cocaine, and engaged in sex with stance abuse and promiscuity...wholly with a Chevron representative.
oil industry representatives, finding “a lacking in acceptance of or adherence Chevron was the only company
culture of ethical failure” pervading the to government ethical standards.”8 singled out by Inspector Devaney for
agency. As the Associated Press reported, Chevron was among four compa- its refusal to cooperate. Devaney wrote
“Government officials handling bil- nies accused of, among other things, to then Interior Secretary Kimpthorne,
lions of dollars in oil royalties partied, providing gifts to DOI employees, in “I know you have shared my frustra-
had sex with and accepted golf and what the report described as “a text- tion with the length of time these in-
ski outings from employees of energy book example of improperly receiv- vestigations have taken, primarily due
companies they were dealing with.”7 ing gifts from prohibited sources.” to the criminal nature of some of these
Thirteen former and current DOI Chevron gave more than $4,700 allegations...and the ultimate refusal of
employees in Denver and Washington in gifts to nine separate employees, one major oil company—Chevron—
were accused of rigging contracts, including senior supervisors, over the to cooperate with our investigation.”9

1
All campaign contribution and lobbying data from the Center for Response Politics’ “Open Secrets” web Data Base, using Federal
Election Commission data.

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 3

largest oil and gas company contributor that year, giving 75% ard Pombo is now the third all-time highest recipient, followed
of its money to Republicans. 2008 was also the most expensive by George W. Bush.
presidential election for the oil and gas industry, with the indus- Chevron’s executives still have something to celebrate. For,
try as a whole giving nearly three times more to John McCain just as George W. Bush appointed a Chevron board member to
than to Barack Obama: $2.3 million vs. $800,000. be his National Security Advisor, so, too, did Obama, with the
Chevron’s executives gave heavily to McCain and the appointment of General James Jones [see Jones box].
Republican National Committee (RNC), with individual dona-
tions in the tens of thousands of dollars. CEO David O’Reilly,
Federal Lobbying
for example, gave $4,600 to John McCain (the personal limit)
and another $53,000 to the RNC.1 However, Chevron’s rank There are limits to how much money individuals and
and file employees, with contributions in the hundreds of dol- corporations can spend on elections, and the public spotlight
lars, helped put Obama in the White House, causing Obama on giving by an industry as reviled as Chevron’s can often harm
to become Chevron’s all-time highest campaign recipient, just a candidate more than help it. There are no such restraints on
barely inching out John McCain ($75,525 vs. $74,413). Rich- lobbying. From 1998 through 2008, Chevron’s nearly $70 mil-

General James L. Jones: Chevron’s Oil Man in the White House

Retired Marine Corps To focus its energy-related lob- the National Economic Council and
General and Commandant James L. bying, the Chamber founded the National Security Council. Energy
Jones served on Chevron’s Board of Institute for 21st Century Energy must henceforth be considered a vital
Directors from May through Decem- with “key oil company backing” and component of BOTH our economic
ber 2008. Jones was also president appointed General Jones its president and national security.”14
and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of and CEO.12 Jones was a natural fit, as Accordingly, it has been reported
Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century the Houston Chronicle reports: “dur- that under Jones’ leadership, “the
Energy, a position he held from the ing his 2003-2006 stint as NATO’s Obama NSC [National Security Coun-
Institute’s founding in June 2007 until supreme commander, Jones stressed cil] has moved to assert greater White
he was appointed Obama’s National his view that energy policy was a top House control over the policymak-
Security Advisor in December 2008. national security matter for the United ing process...Jones has directed NSC
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce States and a leading international officials to lead interagency meetings
is the preeminent lobbying body for security priority.”13 At the Institute, with their counterparts...[in] working
U.S. business and the most power- he continued this approach, working groups that were previously headed by
ful lobbying force before the federal to integrate U.S. energy and national State Department officials.”15
government. From 1998 to 2008, the security policy more directly, thus im- Jones has also expressed in speech-
Chamber spent nearly half a billion plying a more formal linkage between es a strong support for the oil and
dollars lobbying the federal govern- oil and military policy. gas industry’s broader policy agenda,
ment—more than twice as much as At the Institute’s formal launch, recommending the need to repeal “re-
the American Medical Association, the Jones stressed the link: “When I maining moratoria on domestic energy
next highest spender. In 2008 alone, retired in February after 40 years in production and exploration,” expand
the Chamber spent more than any the Marines, I wanted to stay engaged leasing for oil and gas and the use of
other lobbying entity—nearly $100 in national security and this is the clean coal and nuclear power, and
million—versus number two, Exxon- best opportunity without having to go reduce “burdensome regulations“ that
Mobil, with a mere $29 million.10 back to the Pentagon.” Just before his stymie energy production and industry
The Chamber’s hostile approach appointment to the Obama admin- innovation.16
to climate change legislation is well istration, Jones delivered a speech in “We’re very excited and enthusi-
stated by its President and CEO, November 2008, explaining how to astic that there will be somebody in
Thomas Donohue: “Now, with the achieve this goal, recommending “the the administration and in the White
emergence of climate change as a creation of a new office within the House who has talked about “offshore
major issue, we face the risk of digging Executive Office of the President. The drilling and energy security,” Dan
our country into an even deeper hole leader of this office would be respon- Naatz of the Independent Petroleum
when it comes to potentially crippling sible for coordinating the implemen- Association of America told the Hous-
restrictions on our ability to acquire, tation of all aspects of federal energy ton Chronicle upon Jones’ appoint-
produce, and use energy.”11 policy, and would be represented on ment.17

4 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

lion spent on lobbying the federal government was more than [see Jones box], and the Global Climate Coalition—which led
eleven times greater than the $6.2 million the company spent an aggressive lobbying and public relations campaign through-
on elections. With Democrats in control of both the Congress out the 1990s and until 2002 against the idea that emissions of
and the White House, Chevron spent more money on federal heat-trapping gases could lead to global warming. All the while,
lobbying in 2008 then in any previous year (previous records according to a recent lawsuit, its own scientists found precisely
were set during merger years: the 2000 merger with Texaco and the opposite: that the science backing the role of greenhouse
the 2005 merger with Unocal). gases in global warming could not be refuted.3
According to the Federal Lobbying Database, Chevron’s
2008 lobbying was both predictable and effective. It lobbied
State and Local
against legislation to improve environmental, public health,
worker, consumer, and human rights protections, to combat It is far more difficult to monitor state level campaign
climate change, to better regulate energy futures trading, to and lobby spending. Reports from the states where Chevron
increase corporate taxes, to support incentives for alternative operates, however, demonstrate that it is a heavy political hitter
fuels and sustainable energy alternatives, to increase public everywhere it works, with those communities surrounding its
transportation spending, and for harmful free trade agreements, operations known as “company towns.” Chevron spreads its
among other issues.2 wealth to influence state and local elections and policy-making
Chevron also lobbies through proxies, including the through its own lobbying, state and local Chambers of Com-
American Petroleum Institute, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce merce, media saturation, and token contributions to civic orga-

William J. Haynes: Chevron’s In-House “Torture Lawyer“

William J. Haynes resigned as ings,” and has left open the possibil- ternational law and damaged America’s
Department of Defense general coun- ity that officials who approved the reputation and world leadership.” The
sel, the Pentagon’s chief civilian lawyer, techniques could face legal liability.20 letter cited Haynes’s recommendation
on February 25, 2008. Two days later, Back in December 2008 The New York that dogs be used “to exploit phobias”
Chevron hired Haynes as chief cor- Times editorialized that “a strong case” of suspects.22
porate counsel, managing Chevron’s had already been made for bringing While President Bush ultimately
45-attorney legal department.18 criminal charges against Haynes.21 withdrew Haynes’ nomination, Chev-
While Chevron generally an- In 2006 twenty retired military ron apparently had no such qualms
nounces major hires with a press re- officers, including the former chief of when hiring him.
lease, there was none for Haynes. This staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, In December 2008 the Senate
was not surprising, given Haynes’ deep wrote the Senate Judiciary Committee, Armed Services Committee released a
involvement in the Bush administra- expressing their “deep concern” about report, “Inquiry into the Treatment of
tion’s “terror memos.” Haynes wrote or Haynes’ fitness to serve as a federal Detainees in U.S. Custody,” conclud-
supervised memorandums that secretly judge, because he approved coer- ing that Haynes, among others, shares
authorized harsh treatment for detain- cive techniques to interrogate terror much of the blame for “detainee abuse
ees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and suspects. The officers urged a thor- at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, and
Iraq. 19 President Obama has said that ough examination of Haynes’ role in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.”23 Spanish
these and similar memos “reflected, in adopting policies “that compromised prosecutors are now contemplating
my view, us losing our moral bear- military values, ignored federal and in- criminal charges against him.24

J. Stephen Griles: Current Convict—Ex-Chevron Lobbyist

One of Chevron’s more George W. Bush’s Interior Depart- and others for using an elaborate
famous former lobbyists is J. Ste- ment as “an ethical quagmire.”25 Griles swapping scheme to cheat on royalties
phen Griles, currently in prison after worked for Chevron on at least two owed to private and state landowners
pleading guilty to felony charges as occasions. In 2000 just before joining and the federal government. Chevron
part of the Jack Abramoff money-for- the Bush White House, Griles lobbied hired Griles to testify as an expert wit-
influence scandal. A 2004 report by for Chevron on behalf of its merger ness on its behalf. Chevron settled for
the U.S. Inspector General described with Texaco.26 Two years earlier, the $95 million.27
Griles’ tenure as undersecretary of Department of Justice sued Chevron

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 5

nizations. In California, Chevron is the state’s largest corporation lobbying helped kill Proposition 87 and almost a dozen bills op-
and the dominant oil industry force before the State legislature, posed by Big Oil before California’s state legislature in 2006 [see
led by its chief lobbyist, Jack Coffey, and with its support of California box].5 Commenting on the death of his bill—a 2%
the Western States Petroleum Association. As Coffey explains, surtax on oil company profits of more than $10 million—Cal-
Chevron’s money is spent “to be sure our business opportunities ifornia Assemblyman Johan Klehs said, “I cannot believe how
can continue in the way we want them to continue.”4 Chevron’s many legislators don’t have the courage to stand up to them.”6

Banking on California
Chevron’s powerful political influence costs California billions in vital tax dollars.

As 2009 began, the state of Cali- an effective corporate rate on oil com- opponent. It was cloaked behind front
fornia sat on the precipice of bank- panies of about 3%; and property taxes groups, consultants, and lobbyists,
ruptcy. Facing a more than $40 billion paid by oil companies being kept low and the cloak was secured by the lack
budget shortfall, the state implement- under Proposition 13.29 of media scrutiny.”32 Media inqui-
ed $15 billion in spending cuts across Nonetheless, the Governor’s sever- ries made to the oil companies were
a wide array of vital public services and ance tax failed. To understand why diverted to the campaign’s front group,
government programs. (and how), we need to look back just Californians Against Higher Taxes,
In the midst of the budget battle, two years, when California voters tried virtually 100% funded by oil company
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and failed to implement a similar tax money, or to the California Chamber
proposed a 9.9% oil severance fee in what became the most expensive of Commerce, a huge recipient of oil
that could have raised between $800 ballot measure ever fought in U.S. his- industry largesse on the local, state,
million to $1 billion a year or more, tory. Proposition 87, which appeared and national levels with boards of
depending upon the price of oil and on the November 2006 California directors littered with past and present
production levels. But, under heavy state ballot, would have implemented oil industry executives.
industry lobbying, it was stripped from a 6% oil severance fee and directed Prop 87 opponents inundated
the budget at the last minute.28 the funds to investments in alterna- airwaves and voters mailboxes with
California sits on about 3.5 tive energy. When first introduced, the argument that gasoline prices
billion barrels of oil: the third larg- more than 60% of Californians polled would go up because costs would rise
est proven oil reserves in the nation. supported it. But at the voting booth, and oil companies would be forced to
Chevron pumps more oil than any the measure was defeated. What took abandon California. This claim was
other company in the state—about place in the intervening five months is supported by an “independent” expert
33%. ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch the story of how Chevron flexes its po- analysis provided by LECG, a consult-
Shell (based in Houston and The litical muscle. Money lies at the heart ing firm. LECG turned out to have
Hague, respectively) pump another of the story. For every dollar that the been paid by the opponents of Prop
30% through the joint venture Aera supporters of Prop 87 spent, the oil 87 to write the report and share the
Energy. Occidental Oil (based in Los companies spent two, and were always results with the public.33 Economists
Angeles) produces another 13%. prepared to spend more. In total, op- challenged these claims as specious: the
California is the only state that ponents spent more than $100 million tax was simply too small to have any
fails to impose a tax on companies to defeat Proposition 87.30 meaningful impact on the expen-
when they sever that oil from the The leader, according to then- ditures of these mega corporations.
ground. State fees range from 2% to California Secretary of the Environ- The idea that they would abandon
as much as 12.5% in Louisiana and ment, Terry Tamminen, was Chevron’s California was even more ludicrous
12.25% in Alaska on the value of a Sacramento lobbyist, Jack Coffey. “It given, for example, how hard the com-
barrel of oil. California oil companies, was Chevron’s home turf,” Tamminen panies were trying to get further into
in fact, pay the lowest amount of explained, “so the others followed Cof- Alaska, a state with one of the highest
overall taxes on oil in the country by fey’s lead.”31 severance taxes in the nation. But the
a substantial margin due to, among “When we launched a campaign argument worked. On Election Day,
other things, the lack of an oil sever- against Big Oil,” explained Prop 87 the number one issue that Californians
ance tax; the comparatively small cost Communications Director Yusef said guided their “no” votes was the
paid in sales tax on equipment; the Robb, “the people of California did fear of rising gasoline prices.
apportioning of corporate taxes with not understand that Big Oil was our

6 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

 SQUEEZING CONSUMERS AT THE PUMP

Chevron makes its money in two primary ways: (1) closed, leading National Petroleum News to conclude, “This is
producing oil and natural gas and (2) refining and then selling in line with the continued but increased consolidation in the
those resources as products—primarily gasoline. Chevron has industry in the past year.”39
increasingly focused on raising the profitability of the latter Through consolidation, the companies have sought and
sector, with great success. Chevronís dominant presence in the achieved far greater control over how much oil gets refined into
refining sector allowed it to offset the drop in oil prices with a gasoline, how much gasoline is available at the pump, and how
corresponding 10-fold increase in its refinery profits in the last much the gasoline costs. This control is often believed to take
quarter of 2008. the form of outright illegal manipulation. But proving ma-
Many argue, however, that Chevron’s success is derived nipulation is difficult and lawsuits that survive to trial are rare
from methods that harm consumers, including unethical and because they are notoriously difficult to win. Due to success-
illegal activities. Such concerns received considerable support ful industry lobbying, information on refinery and gas station
when on April 3, 2009 the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals operations is rarely a matter of public record and is difficult to
revived a class action lawsuit against Chevron. The suit accuses acquire. A bill by California State Senator Joe Dunn to merely
Chevron and other refiners of conspiring to fix gasoline prices give the California Public Utility Commission the authority to
in California. Like most suits against Chevron, the case has monitor oil refinery production to ensure fair market competi-
spent years in court. Originally filed in 1998, the plaintiffs, a tion got nowhere because, according to Dunn “The gasoline
group of wholesale gasoline buyers, contend that the companies industry has an enormous voice... Too many [other legislators]
intentionally limited the supply of gasoline to raise prices and were too concerned about what this industry might do in the
keep them high. A federal judge dismissed the case in 2002, campaign this fall.”40
but, upon appeal, the Court reversed the ruling.34 Oil companies’ unparalleled financial and personnel
resources allow them to crush challengers with drawn out,
expensive, and complicated proceedings. When plaintiffs’ victo-
Price Control ries do occur, they are often settlements with sealed proceedings
Chevron reports that in 2008, it operated five U.S. oil that leave no public record of corporate-wrongdoing, and force
refineries and, between its Chevron and Texaco brands, owned future cases to begin from scratch. Chevron likes to go further,
and leased 9,685 U.S. gas stations. kicking losing opponents when they are down by launching
In California, Chevron helps maintain the state’s oil oligopoly, countersuits to recoup legal fees that mean nothing to its bot-
with just four refiners owning nearly 80% of the market and six re- tom line but can mean bankruptcy for those who dare to chal-
finers, including Chevron, owning 85% of the retail outlets, selling lenge the company. Moreover, the federal agency charged with
90% of the gasoline in the state.35 This is the primary reason why overseeing collusion in the industry, the Federal Trade Commis-
Californians regularly suffer the nation’s highest gasoline prices. sion, is overrun with lawyers who take brief stints at the agency
A wave of mega-mergers over the last 25 years has led to in between jobs working for or on behalf of the very companies
thousands of independent oil refineries and gas stations across they are supposed to regulate.41
the U.S. being swallowed or crushed by Big Oil. Chevron, Exx- In 2006 Senator Arlen Specter called for “an examination
onMobil, ConocoPhillips, BP, Shell, and Valero control almost of what oil and gas industry consolidations have done to pric-
60% of the U.S. refining market—nearly twice as much as the es... We have allowed too many companies to merge together
six largest companies controlled just 12 years ago.36 These same and reduce competition.” Senator Dianne Feinstein concurred:
companies, with the exception of Valero, control more than “What you have today is an oligopoly in the oil and gas indus-
60% of the nation’s gas stations, compared with 27% in 1991.37 try, and I think it’s disastrous for the American people.”42
There has not been a single new refinery built in the U.S.
in more than a generation. In 1981 there were 324 refineries,
Consumer Demands
owned by 189 different companies. Today there are 150, owned
by just 50 companies.38 The companies have, in turn, closed Consumer organizations including Consumer Watchdog,
gas stations and ceased to build new ones. While the number of Consumer Federation of America, and Public Citizen demand
cars on the road has more than doubled over the last 25 years, greater transparency in refinery and gas station pricing and opera-
the number of gas stations has declined by one-third, bring- tions and state and federal legislation addressing price gouging
ing about the near disappearance of the small, independently and collusion. State Attorneys General and Members of Congress
owned gas station. In 2008 alone, over 2,500 gas stations have gone further, demanding the breakup of Big Oil.

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 7

 CHEVRON’S HYPE ON ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

“In the future, you are going to need every molecule of oil
that you can get from every source...”

—Don Paul, Chevron44

“People who think that peak oil will occur are just looking
at conventional oil. You have to think beyond that. Think of
all the other hydrocarbon sources, the oil sands in Canada...
Think of all the remote areas of the world that have not yet
been explored. . . .”

—David O’Reilly, Chevron CEO, 200645

Chevron’s “human energy” advertisements are

everywhere. The commercials—which end with the words “oil,”
“geothermal,” “solar,” “wind,” “hydrogen,” and “conservation”
flashing one at a time between the three bars of Chevron’s Risky investments: Chevron’s coal, chemical and alternative fuels
logo—encourage us to believe that the company is equal parts businesses are risky. Communities and organizations across the
clean energy, conservation, and oil. country and world, such as leader Rainforest Action Network
(RAN), are organizing against both their production and products.
We understand the threats of climate change and that oil is March 2, 2009, thousands protest at Washington, DC’s Capitol
a non-renewable natural resource that will run dry. It naturally Power Plant.
follows that oil companies would lead the way in the develop-
ment of alternatives because “How else do they plan to stay in ness and are clearly meant less to make Chevron a “part of the
business when the oil runs out?” Logical, but wrong. solution” to the world’s climate crises, as its commercials claim,
Chevron plans to stay in business by pursuing every last than to appease public opinion.
drop of oil available on the planet and doing so using increas- Using incredibly generous estimates, I found that Chevron
ingly environmentally destructive methods. It is also expanding spent, at best, less than 3% of its total capital and exploratory
into other areas, such as coal, chemicals, and so-called “frontier expenditures on clean alternative energy in 2008.
hydrocarbons,” such as heavy oil from the Canadian tar sands
and Midwestern shale.
Finding the Numbers
Chevron does make limited investments into renewable
energy alternatives. However, these investments are token You might think, given Chevron’s ad campaigns, that it
compared to the amounts spent on its oil and natural gas busi- would be eager to demonstrate its commitment to renewable

Chevron’s Coal Company

Chevron controls approxi- in Wyoming. Coal is the country’s would have us believe, there is no such
mately 200 million tons of proven largest, dirtiest source of electricity and thing as “clean coal.” From acid drain-
and probable coal reserves in the U.S. climate-changing greenhouse gases. age from coal mines polluting rivers
It owns and operates two surface coal It is the most carbon-intensive fossil and streams to the release of mercury
mines, McKinley, in New Mexico, fuel, emitting 29% more than oil and and other toxins when it is burned, as
and Kemmerer, in Wyoming, and one 80% more carbon dioxide per unit of well as climate-destroying gases and
underground coal mine, North River, energy than gas. U.S. coal plants are fine particulates that wreak havoc on
in Alabama. It also owns an interest a leading cause of asthma and lung human health, coal is unquestionably a
in Youngs Creek Mining Company cancer. Despite what the coal industry dirty business.

8 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

alternative energy. In fact, one has to be quite a sleuth. Chev- nearly $150 million. This reduction reflects a trend across the
ron’s public relations materials state that it expects “to invest industry, with companies dropping or cutting renewable energy
more than $2.5 billion from 2007 through 2009” in “renewable investments as the economy has soured.
alternative energy sources.” But nowhere will you find more de- So, which of these expenditures can be considered “green”?
tailed breakdowns that attach actual dollar amounts to specific Certainly not Chevron’s Coal Company [see Coal box]. That
investments in specific years. leaves “power generation and alternative fuels and technology
The best sources are Chevron’s supplement to its annual companies,” as potential “green” investments, but even these
reports and 10-K tax filings with the U.S. Securities and Ex- include “dirty” expenditures.
change Commission. There we find charts listing the company’s
total “capital and exploratory” expenditures that show that from
2006 through 2008, they totaled $16.6 billion, $20 billion,
Chevron’s Power Generation
and $22.8 billion, respectively. Of that, Chevron spent approxi- Chevron is the world’s leading producer of geothermal
mately $16 billion in 2006, $19 billion in 2007, and $21.7 bil- energy. According to the company in 2007, most of its renew-
lion in 2008 exploring for, producing, refining, marketing, and able energy investments were in geothermal. Chevron has four
transporting oil and natural gas. It spent an additional $200 geothermal plants, located in Indonesia and the Philippines.
million, $271 million, and $485 million on its chemical busi- However, Chevron also has an additional 13 power genera-
ness in each year, hardly a “green” business [see Chemicals box]. tion facilities in the United States and Asia “developing and
There is one final catchall category for the rest of Chevron’s operating commercial power projects for utilities and large
expenditures: the “all other” category, which covers Chevron’s industrial customers worldwide.” These projects generate more
“mining operations, power generation businesses, worldwide than 5,500 megawatts of electricity and include traditional
cash management and debt financing activities, corporate electric utilities, which are a major source of air pollutants that
administrative functions, insurance operations, real estate activi- affect human health and the environment, including sulfur
ties, alternative fuels and technology companies, and the inter- dioxide, a powerful asthma trigger, and nitrogen oxide, a com-
est in Dynergy prior to its sale in May 2007.” ponent of ozone smog.
Chevron’s total expenditures in this category were $417 According to the American Lung Association, electric utili-
million, $774 million, and $625 million in 2006, 2007, and ties produce 66% of all sulfur dioxide emissions nationwide.
2008. While Chevron increased its expenditures in virtually Sulfur dioxide contributes to the formation of fine particles and
every other area of capital and exploration between 2007 and to acid rain. Power plants are also the source of 29% of nitrogen
2008, its investments in the “all other” category declined by oxide (NOx) emissions. NOx is a major component of ozone

Chevron’s Chemical Company

Chevron’s chemical business, the hydrocarbons into the air; there, nine air quality violations at its Port
a partnership with ConocoPhillips, combined with nitrogen oxides, they Arthur plant. The ruling found that
includes the operation of 35 separate form tropospheric ozone, a serious air Chevron Phillips and other facili-
chemical manufacturing facilities pollutant. Discarded polystyrene, com- ties emitted a combined total of 7.5
across the United States and the world, monly used to make fast food contain- million pounds of pollution, while by-
producing a host of toxic chemicals ers and cups, does not biodegrade and passing existing state and federal limits
that are dangerous to the communities is resistant to photolysis. These are the by attributing the excess emissions to
where they are produced and where most common form of marine debris, exempt categories such as startups,
the products are disposed of, including clogging and polluting waterways and shutdowns, malfunctions, or main-
polystyrene, styrene, paraxylene, and costing local governments millions in tenance.47 In 2004 Chevron Phillips
benzene, a known human carcinogen. clean up costs. Fifty cities and counties Chemical paid a $1.8 million penalty
Polystyrene, for example, is more across California alone have passed for violations that killed three people
commonly known as Styrofoam. Sty- Polystyrene Ordinances, most ban- and injured nearly 100 at its Pasadena,
rene, the basic building block of poly- ning its use altogether in takeout food Texas facility in 1999 and 2000. The
styrene, is listed as a possible human packaging. A statewide ordinance, government alleged that the com-
carcinogen. The process of making pushed by groups such as Californians pany and/or its predecessor, Phillips
polystyrene pollutes the air and cre- Against Waste, has been introduced by Chemical, failed to exercise sufficient
ates large amounts of liquid and solid Assembly Member Mike Feuer. care to prevent accidental releases of
waste. The use of hydrocarbons in In 2006 Chevron Phillips Chemi- chemicals.48
polystyrene foam manufacture releases cals was fined almost $300,000 for

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 9

smog and fine particulate matter, which affect the health of their environmental drawbacks [see Biofuels box].
millions. Other pollutants produced by electric utilities include There is one other section in the 10-K which could also in-
carbon dioxide and heavy metals such as mercury.46 clude investment in green energy: Chevron’s total research and
development expenses, which were, for the entire corporation,
$835 million, $562 million, and $468 million for the years
Chevron’s Technology Companies 2008, 2007, and 2006, respectively, at least a portion of which
Chevron has three technology companies, two of which likely went to research within CTV.
include green energy expenditures: Chevron Energy Solutions
and Chevron Technology Ventures.
Less than 3% in 2008
Chevron Energy Solution (CES) is a wholly owned sub-
sidiary that provides public institutions and businesses with Let’s be extremely generous for ease of calculations to take
sustainable projects designed to increase energy efficiency and account of these potential research investments, and, for argu-
reliability, reduce energy costs, and utilize renewable and alter- ment’s sake, simply credit Chevron with the entire “all other”
native-power technologies. According to the company, major category to the green column: $417 million in 2006, $774
projects completed by CES in 2008 included several large solar million in 2007, and $625 million in 2008. That is not only
panel installations in California. Chevron Technology Ventures extremely generous, it is also only 2.4%, 3.8%, and 2.8% of
(CTV) manages investments and projects in emerging energy Chevron’s total capital and exploratory expenditures. Not even
technologies and their integration into Chevron’s core busi- a measly 4%. Another way to look at it? In 2006, Chevron
nesses. As of the end of 2008, CTV was investigating technolo- purchased the most expensive offshore oil-drilling rig in history
gies such as next-generation biofuels, advanced solar power, and for $600 million—one and 1/2 times its entire green energy
enhanced geothermal. But, these investments are not without investments that year.

Chevron’s Biofuel MisInvestments

By Rainforest Action Network

Chevron’s Catchlight En- Chevron is also involved in re- lacking land tenure? Will it hasten the
ergy LLC, a 50-50 joint venture with search activities aimed at the commer- logging of forests and tree plantations
Weyerhaeuser Company, is “focused cialization of next-generation biofuels to generate biomass for next-genera-
on the research, development and with the University of California tion biofuels? Will it require the U.S.
commercialization of profitable, low- at Davis, the Georgia Institute of to continue to pull land out of the
carbon biofuels from nonfood, forest- Technology, Texas A&M University, U.S. Conservation Reserve Program,
based resources.” Weyerhaeuser, one and the National Renewable En- sacrificing long-term environmental
of the largest logging companies in the protection to increase biofuel produc-
Toben Dilworth, Rainforest Action Network

world, owns or has long-term leases tion? Because of the massive amounts
to over 43 million acres of forests and of land, technology, and financial
plantations in large-scale operations investments needed to produce
in North and South America, and has enough biofuels to meet new U.S. and
been accused by Amnesty Internation- European requirements, a Businessweek
al of human rights abuses stemming article recently concluded with an
from logging in indigenous territories assessment reached by RAN and other
in Canada against the communities’ environmental groups long ago, that
consent. Unfortunately, Catchlight “the only people who are going to be
focuses on the use of “waste” lying able to survive [production of biofuels]
below tree level to be harvested and are the Big Oil companies.”49
turned into fuels. However, in the ergy Laboratory. A key problem with We cannot grow our way out
forest, there is no such thing as “forest commercialization of biofuels is the of our addiction to oil. Instead, we
waste.” Without undergrowth, the soil need to find millions of acres of land should write Big Oil out of our energy
becomes progressively unhealthy. As its to grow dedicated energy crops, like story altogether, through investments
existing soil is eroded, Weyerhaeuser switchgrass or plantation trees. Where in energy efficiency and consumption
will be forced to either increase its use will this land come from? Will it reduction, mass transit, bike transit,
of harmful pesticides or acquire even replace food crops, or displace people and electric vehicles recharged by a
more forestland. such as indigenous and other groups green grid.

10 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

II. The United States
Chevron in Alaska
By Trustees for Alaska

“Chevron raked in record profits in 2008 and they shouldn’t What Chevron Says
treat Cook Inlet fisheries as their private dumping grounds.”
In 2004, the year before its merger with Chevron, Unocal
—Bob Shavelson, Executive Director, Cook Inletkeeper stated, “The economic conditions and technical feasibilities in
[the oil and gas effluent guidelines, which exempt Cook Inlet
Through Chevron’s 2005 acquisition of Unocal from zero-discharge,] are still appropriate to any discussion of
Corporation, it obtained Unocal’s crude oil and natural gas the imposition of additional treatment technologies.”55 In the
operations in Alaska’s Cook Inlet.50 Chevron now operates 10 course of the ongoing permit process since the merger, Chev-
oil platforms and several onshore and offshore oil- and gas- ron has not changed its position on zero-discharge. EPA and
producing facilities in Cook Inlet. Chevron are presently scheduled to file opposition briefs in the
Since the 1960s oil and gas production facilities in Cook litigation in June of 2009.
Inlet have been dumping toxic pollutants directly into the
water. Most of the pollution comes from millions of gallons of
Lawsuit Filed by Trustees for Alaska
seawater that is injected into the subterranean oil reservoir to
maintain pressure. As oil and gas are pumped to the surface, Public interest environmental law firm Trustees for Alaska,
they are separated from the seawater, which is left with a toxic representing Cook Inlet Fishermen’s Fund, United Cook Inlet
mixture of oil, grease, heavy metals, and other pollutants. In Drift Association, the Native Village of Nanwalek, the Native
1996 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began Village of Port Graham, and Cook Inletkeeper, has challenged
requiring coastal operators to re-inject this toxic soup back into the EPA decision to issue a new permit.56
the reservoir, achieving “zero discharge” of pollution. Only in In a brief filed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on
Cook Inlet does EPA still allow the contaminated brew to be December 15, 2008,57 Trustees for Alaska charged the Bush
dumped directly into coastal waters.51 Administration’s EPA with numerous violations of the Clean
Water Act in granting the 2007 permit. The brief also charges
that EPA cooked the books when it assembled the technical
Chevron Dumping Pollution into Cook Inlet justification for the permit. For example, the brief says:
In 2002, the only year for which EPA has provided infor-
n Although required to use “all available information” to
mation, 19 oil and gas facilities dumped approximately 279
evaluate pollution levels from current discharges, EPA ig-
tons of oil and grease into Cook Inlet. Chevron’s Trading Bay
nored “hundreds of effluent samples,” including three years
Production Facility accounts for 95% of the pollution.52
of the most recent data.
Since acquiring Trading Bay and the other Unocal facili-
ties, Chevron has fought to protect and enlarge its authoriza- n EPA in at least one instance “fabricated” a pollution con-
tion to dump pollution into Cook Inlet. In June of 2007 the centration, inflating a copper concentration by a factor of
EPA reissued a permit for oil company discharges into Cook 10. The inflated concentration was one rationale for relax-
Inlet, granting Chevron and other facility operators most of ing pollution limits and expanding mixing zones.
what they sought, including the right to increase the discharge
n EPA used a “fictional scenario” to model the discharge
of produced water, a waste product that contains a toxic to
plume from Chevron’s Trading Bay Production Facil-
moderately toxic mixture of hydrocarbons, metals, and other
ity, the source of most of the pollution governed by the
pollutants, and obtain significantly larger mixing zones, which
permit. The Trading Bay facility has a discharge port with
are the areas around the point of discharge where the effluent is
two outlets. EPA, confronted by its own computer model
allowed exceed water quality standards.53 During the life of this
demonstrating that pollutants sank to the bottom and put
permit, produced water dumped into Cook Inlet is projected to
bottom-dwelling organisms and the rest of the food chain
grow to nearly 10 million gallons per day.54 As the oil reservoirs
at risk, “simply changed the outfall configuration [on the
beneath the Inlet have been pumped nearly dry, more and more
computer model] to a single-port outfall with a smaller
seawater is required to keep up the pressure—and more pollu-
port than the size of the two actual ports, thereby changing
tion is being dumped into Cook Inlet.
the trajectory of the discharge, increasing its velocity, and

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 11

 S. Russell, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
March 28, 2009 - Mud torrents triggered by Mt. Redoubt’s eruptions reach the top of the protective dike around storage tanks at the
Drift River Terminal, and in some places have lapped over the top.

making the bottom contact and its attendant environmen- that tides in Cook Inlet go in and out once every two days,
tal risks disappear.” instead of twice a day.
n EPA repeatedly manipulated the data it entered into its n EPA “fabricated or omitted” values that were essential to
computer model, entering six platforms’ above-water out- calculating appropriate pollution limits. The brief alleges
falls as underwater discharges; modeling toxic discharges that EPA made “deliberate errors” in the computer model-
as non-toxic; and even relying on an imaginary 48-hour ing and setting the permit limits.
tidal cycle for Cook Inlet—that is, telling the computer

Cook Volcano: Chevron Stores Millions of Gallons of Crude at Foot of

Active Volcano By Trustees for Alaska
In April of 2009, Chevron was holding 6.2 million gallons of oil. ficials decided that most of the oil had
temporarily forced to shut down its Ironically, the threat of another to go. A total of 2.5 million gallons
10 oil production platforms in Cook massive Alaskan oil spill came just as of crude oil was left in two tanks, and
Inlet—but not because of pollution residents were grimly observing the additional seawater was pumped into
problems. Rather, the problem was an 20th anniversary of the ExxonValdez the tanks to stabilize them in the event
active volcano, Mt. Redoubt, whose re- disaster and pondering what lessons of a flash flood.
current eruptions were posing a threat had been learned. Evidently, Chevron “Had one of those tanks floated
to Drift River Oil Terminal, the storage hadn’t learned very much, as it con- or leaked, I don’t know that there
facility for crude oil from Cook Inlet. tinued to store millions of gallons of would be any more (oil and gas) de-
The terminal, which is co-owned by crude oil, more than half the amount velopment in Cook Inlet,” said Kevin
Chevron, was constructed in the flood spilled by the ExxonValdez, at the foot Banks, director of the Alaska Depart-
plain of a river flowing from a glacier of an active volcano. After a series of ment of Natural Resources’ oil and gas
on the volcano’s flank. Eruptions had eruptions in 1989-90, a dike was built division.58 Conservation groups have
been melting sizable portions of the around the terminal’s storage tanks, been saying for years that the terminal
glacier, sending cascades of mud, ash, keeping the tank farm dry. But as this should be moved to a safer location.
and water down towards storage tanks year’s eruptions continued, nervous of-

12 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

 DRILLING OFF OF AMERICA’S COASTS

“Eighty-five percent of our coastlines are off-limits to explora- not try to re-impose the moratorium, nor has the Senate, nor
tion. . . . [W]hat’s wrong with our country? Why not open our has the President.64
coast up?” The moratorium affected new leases only. Therefore, 23
—David O’Reilly, CEO, Chevron, 200759 oil and gas production facilities already in place off the coast of
California remain active today, while hundreds more rigs oper-
“Generally speaking, we’re for tapping into our oil and gas re- ate off the coast of Alaska. There was no drilling off the Atlantic
sources here anywhere we can, because we think they’re needed. Coast prior to 1981, and there remains none today. In the U.S.
. . . The industry knows, government knows, the people know Gulf of Mexico, off the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi,
there are oil and gas resources off of California.” Alabama, and west of Florida, where there is no moratorium,
—Mickey Driver, Chevron Spokesman, 200660 drilling has exploded in the last ten years, with production
rising roughly 70% and involving more than 170 offshore
On January 28, 1969 Unocal’s (now Chevron) offshore production facilities. Chevron is the largest overall leaseholder
oilrig Platform Alpha suffered a massive underwater blowout in the Gulf and specializes there and worldwide in deepwater
five miles off the coast of Summerland, California. Three mil- production, at enormous cost.65
lion gallons of oil spilled directly into the Santa Barbara Chan- Chevron’s Discoverer Deep Seas oil drilling ship, for exam-
nel, coating 35 miles of shoreline with oil up to six inches thick. ple, is currently at work 190 miles off the coast of New Orleans,
Thirteen years later, Congress implemented the Outer drilling through one mile of ocean and more than five miles of
Continental Shelf (OCS) Moratorium that prevented new earth to reach the Tahiti oil field. It costs an additional $120
leases for oil and gas development off the Pacific and Atlantic million per well to drill in waters this deep. Each drill bit (they
coasts as well as in Bristol Bay, Alaska. It automatically expired are encrusted with diamonds) costs $50,000 to $80,000—and a
unless renewed annually. In 1990 George H. W. Bush added single well can easily chew up a dozen. The first six exploratory
an additional level of presidential protection that deferred new wells that Chevron drilled in the Gulf with the Discoverer were
leasing until 2002. Bill Clinton extended the presidential defer- dry holes. In fact, about 80% of all of the exploratory wells
ral to 2012. drilled in the Gulf are failures. When Tahiti comes online this
Chevron lobbied for decades to get the moratorium lifted. year, it will have been after a decade of work, about average for
Its primary ally was Congressman Richard Pombo. “Pombo’s any new offshore well. Chevron estimates that it will have in-
goal from the beginning was to find a way to kill the moratori- vested $4.7 billion in the field before it recovers a single dollar.
um at the behest of Chevron,” said Richard Charter, co-chair of As Chevron’s Mickey Driver puts it, “It’s lots of money, it’s
the OCS Coalition, a network of environmental and commu- lots of equipment and it’s a total crapshoot.”66
nity organizations, and an original drafter of the moratorium.61
For 27 years Chevron and Pombo failed, and the moratorium
Global Warming and Pollution
held. But 2008 election-year politics and unprecedented oil
company-profits and campaign giving proved its undoing. Drilling in water depths greater than 500 feet releases
methane, a green house gas at least twenty times more potent
than carbon dioxide in its contribution to global warming.67
Reversal of Fortune Until recently, most offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico,
In the midst of the 2008 Presidential election both Obama for example, took place on simple scaffolds in 30 to 200 feet
and McCain reversed their previous opposition to offshore of water. But in the last ten years, the number of rigs drilling
drilling. McCain announced his reversal with a major speech in depths of greater than 1,000 feet has catapulted from 17 in
in June 2008, delivered before heading to Texas for a series of 1997 to over 90 today. The number of ultra-deepwater projects
fundraisers with energy industry executives. The next day he in the Gulf, those in more than 5,000 feet of water, has more
raised $1.3 million at just one luncheon.62 One month later, than doubled in the last two years alone.68 [See Florida Box for
George W. Bush lifted the Presidential moratorium, and in Sep- additional pollution facts.]
tember Congress allowed the moratorium to expire. House Ma-
jority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters in September
Accidents, Spills, and Explosions
that restoring the ban “will be a top priority for discussion next
year.”63 Just two weeks after the election, however, Hoyer re- Offshore oilrigs are technological wonders, often prone to
versed himself completely, saying that House Democrats would a lack of proper corporate spending on oversight, training, and

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 13

upkeep and accidents happen. Given the size and scale of these its original position days after Katrina hit. It had been operat-
facilities, even a minor incident can have catastrophic impacts. ing in 2,100 feet of water about 165 miles southwest of New
Accidents, spills, leaks, fires, explosions, and blowouts are far Orleans, when it was severed from its moorings and capsized.
too frequent occurrences that have led to the deaths of hun-
dreds of workers.
What Chevron Says
Oil is extremely toxic, and current cleanup methods are
incapable of removing more than a small fraction of the oil In a November 2008 letter to Barack Obama, Chevron
spilled in marine waters. In the U.S., from 1998 through 2007 CEO David O’Reily noted that while the lifting of the OCS
offshore producers released an average of more than 6,500 bar- moratorium was an important first step, “[t]his policy must
rels of oil a year—64% more than the annual average during be sustained with additional measures to remove remaining
the previous 10 years. The first half of 2008 alone brought over moratoria... In particular, the Eastern Gulf of Mexico remains
1,100 barrels spilled in five incidents.69 off-limits...”71 Chevron, which holds dozens of leases off the
An increasing problem is extreme weather, particularly Florida Coast, is eager to get to work there, as it is across
hurricanes. As a result of these storms, offshore oilrigs and America’s coasts. “We need to start now,” Chevron President
platforms are tipping, collapsing, exploding, and floating out Gary P. Luquette told a Congressional Committee in February
to sea with increasing frequency. As global warming intensifies, 2009, “Chevron believes that swift action to initiate evaluation
weather conditions will become more extreme, and such events and development of offshore resources is important...”72
will occur with greater frequency. Before Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita hit ground, they pushed through oil and gas facili-
ties in the Gulf. Fortunately, workers had been evacuated, but
What Communities Want
the facilities and the ocean water surrounding them were not Environmentalists, fishers, coastal communities, hotel and
as lucky: the storms damaged platforms and pipelines, causing tourism bodies, surfers, and citizens and elected officials from
nine major oil spills that released at least seven million gallons across the United States have joined forces to reinstate the OCS
of oil and other pollutants into the water.70 Chevron’s deepwater moratoriums, stop expansion of offshore drilling, and impose
platform “Typhoon” was spotted drifting nearly 80 miles from new moratoriums on currently producing offshore fields.

Sierra Club Florida Opposes Offshore Drilling

By David J. Cullen, Sierra Club Florida

Offshore drilling impacts could prove calamitous to 11 tons of carbon monoxide, eight tons of sulfur dioxide
Florida’s economy, which: and 38 tons of VOCS.76
n Enjoys a recreational fishing industry that produces n After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the number of dam-
roughly 131,000 jobs and $7.6 billion in annual rev- aged pipelines rose to 457 from 183, and 113 platforms
enue73; and were destroyed.77

n Draws more than $39 billion per year from beach and n A single burst pipeline spilled more than 53,000 barrels
coastal tourism.74 of crude into surrounding marshes and wetlands.
n Post Katrina and Rita, the EPA recorded 595 spills that
These are the revenues directly at risk from the adverse im-
released oil, natural gas, and chemicals, including an
pacts of offshore drilling, oil/gas conveyance and transpor-
estimated nine million gallons of oil.78
tation, and the infrastructure necessary to those operations.
n In 2006, a pipeline linking a rig to the land leaked more
than 42,000 gallons of oil offshore of Galveston. Heavy
Environmental Impacts seas prevented repair of the rupture for nearly a week.79
n Offshore exploration involves seismic surveys and excava- n Louisiana has dug approximately 10,000 miles of canals
tions using equipment linked to beaching and stranding to transport oil and lay pipelines, which contributes to
of marine species, and lower catch rates.75 coastal erosion and wetland deterioration.80
n Offshore operations produce 50 tons of nitrogen oxide, n Offshore wells produce, on average, 180,000 gallons
13 tons of carbon monoxide, six tons of sulfur dioxide, of drilling mud and cuttings, containing toxic particle
and five tons of volatile organic carbons annually; and the materials including mercury, chromium, barium, arsenic,
platforms themselves generate another 50 tons of NOx, cadmium, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.81

14 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

 COLORADO, UTAH, AND WYOMING’S OIL SHALE

In 2004 the Bush administration began soliciting heavy, dirty oil. Just as with tar sand oil, refining oil from shale
public comments on oil shale development in Colorado. “It was is more polluting than refining conventional oil. These kerogen-
the first that anyone had heard of oil shale in two decades,” Bob filled rocks are found in vast quantities in Colorado, Utah, and
Randall of Western Resource Advocates recalled. “Everyone Wyoming, the vast majority of which are in federal lands.
in the conservation community was shocked. The collective Producing oil from shale takes an enormous amount of
response was, ‘Oil shale is back? What the hell?’”82 energy, water—each barrel of shale oil produced requires two
In the early 1960s Unocal (now Chevron) and other com- to five barrels of water—and causes the emission of higher
panies began to try commercial production of oil shale, all of amounts of global warming pollution than conventional oil
which fizzled by 1982. Shell is the only company that contin- development. It threatens groundwater both from mining,
ued its efforts, but for at least the last 20 years Shell has been as aquifers are often located both above and below the shale
focused on research. deposits, and from the disposal of the spent shale. An industry
Driven by heavy industry lobbying, including Chevron fa- producing 100,000 barrels of shale oil a day would require
vorite, former Congressman Richard Pombo, the Bush admin- disposal of up to 150,000 tons of waste rock each day, or about
istration put oil shale on the fast track, handing out six leases 55 million tons per year.
to private companies to conduct oil shale research and develop- Shale is currently produced using the same methods as for
ment (R&D) on federal lands in Colorado and Utah in 2006. coal, open-pit, or underground mines, but some companies
Chevron received a lease in Colorado. Chevron reports that in are trying to come up with the technology to produce shale oil
2008 it began drilling “a 19-well hydrology testing program as a where it sits in the ground (in situ). Both traditional and in-situ
first step in attempting to unlock this vast resource.” processes release pollutants into the air that can increase global
The leases last for 10 years, and they were free. Chevron warming, asthma, and emphysema, cause mercury poisoning,
and the other companies picked the areas with the thickest, and even lead to premature death. Moreover, the production
richest deposits. Their R&D leases cover 160 acres. But, if they of 100,000 barrels of shale oil a day using the in-situ pro-
demonstrate that they can develop commercial quantities of cess would require 1,200 megawatts of power, requiring the
oil, they will be granted an exclusive right to the adjacent 4,960 construction of a power plant large enough to serve a city of
acres of land. The 2005 Energy Policy Act, moreover, increased 500,000 people. If a coal-powered plant were used, it would
the maximum size of an oil shale lease from 5,120 to 50,000 emit 10 million tons of global warming pollution.
acres. The companies could therefore become owners of vast
tracts of formerly public land all across the West. What Chevron Says
In November 2008 the Bush administration set new shale
royalty rates, and then in January 2009, just before leaving In a November 2008 letter to President-elect Obama,
office, offered a new round of leases covering areas four times Chevron emphasized that North America is endowed with
larger than the original six leases. In February 2009 Obama’s substantial quantities of oil sands and oil shale, “and developing
Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar, withdrew the January lease sale the policies and new technologies that can unlock their tremen-
and challenged what he described as “low royalty rates and a dous potential should also be a core component of U.S. energy
premature regulatory framework for those leases” established policy.” The company stressed the need to “ensure oil shale and
in November.83 He initiated a 90-day public comment period, oil sands potential is fully realized.”84
begun on February 27, 2009, after which Interior will offer a
second round of research leases. Community Demands
Organizations such as National Resources Defense Council,
Mass Pollution1 Colorado’s Western Resource Advocates, and Utah’s Red Rock
Oil shale, like oil sands, is a misnomer, a marketing term. Forests are part of a unique alliance of environmentalists, “wise
It refers to certain rocks found 2,000 feet below the earth’s sur- use“ land advocates, liberal and conservative elected officials, and
face in deposits 1000-feet thick that, when mined, crushed, and others across the region. Some call for the halt of production
heated to temperatures of approximately 900 degrees Fahren- altogether, while others demand, at a minimum, that the process
heit, release a small amount of kerogen, a precursor to petro- be slowed, studied, and best practices be developed before the
leum. Once the kerogen is released, it must be upgraded by corporations gain ownership of hundreds of thousands of acres
further processing. Only then does this rock become oil—a very of federal land to exploit as they see fit for years to come.
1
This section drawn from Driving It Home: Choosing the Right Path for Fueling North America’s Transportation Future, Natural
Resources Defense Council, Western Resource Advocates, and the Pembina Institute of Canada, 2007.
Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 15
 CHEVRON’S RICHMOND REFINERY

Chevron’s Richmond Refinery in Richmond, Cali- across U.S. facilities. For “total environmental releases” and “air
fornia is the company’s second largest refinery and one of the releases of recognized developmental toxicants,” the refinery
oldest and largest refineries in the United States. Richmond has ranked in the absolute worst facilities in the nation. As for “air
a population of approximately 100,000, 82% of whom are listed releases of recognized carcinogens” and “recognized develop-
as minorities by the U.S. Census. Seventeen thousand people, mental toxicants,” the refinery ranked in the top 20 percentile
including those in two public housing projects, live within just for “worst/dirtiest facilities” in the country.88
three miles of the refinery. The majority of these residents are Community organizations put constant pressure on the
low-income people of color. Within one mile of and abutting state and local governments to enforce existing pollution
the refinery are businesses, houses, an elementary school, and control laws against Chevron. Occasionally the government
playgrounds. responds with civil lawsuits. In 2004, for example, Chevron
paid approximately $330,000 in negotiated fines to settle two
lawsuits for more than 70 reported violations from 2000 to
Pollution 2002.89 In 2001 Chevron was fined an additional $242,500 for
Built in 1902, the refinery shows its age. Sitting on nearly failing to repair leaking pipe connectors in a timely manner,
3,000 acres of land, to refine its capacity of 87.6 million barrels leading to 241 separate leaks in just three months.90
of crude oil per year—240,000 barrels per day—the refinery
produces over two million pounds of waste per year.85 The
Public Safety
EPA reported nearly 100,000 pounds of toxic waste from the
site in 2007, including at least 38 different toxic substances,86 In January 2007 a giant explosion rocked the refinery. A
including more than 4,000 pounds of benzene, a known hu- leaking corroded pipe “that should have been detached two de-
man carcinogen, and 455,000 pounds of ammonia, repeated cades ago,” according to investigators, was to blame.91 The five-
exposure to which can cause an asthma-like allergy and lead to alarm fire and 100-foot flames burned for nine hours. Almost
lung damage. The EPA lists the refinery in “significant noncom- 3,000 people in nearby neighborhoods received telephone calls,
pliance“ for air pollution standards.87 instructing them to stay inside with their doors and windows
The refinery is ranked as one of the “dirtiest/worst” facili- shut to avoid breathing the toxic fumes. According to Chevron,
ties in the nation by “Scorecard,” which compares EPA data a leaking valve that “was initially installed more than 30 years

Skirting Local Taxes

By Marilyn Langlois, Richmond Progressive Alliance

All Richmond residents and Council insisted on an outside audit sure T, a citizens’ initiative that would
businesses but one pay a 10% tax on of Chevron’s usage (agreeing to keep it have the effect of increasing Chevron’s
their utility usage. The exception is confidential). As a result of the audit, annual business license fee by $16 to
Chevron, which convinced the City Chevron is back to paying the full flat $26 million annually, depending on
Council to let it pay a flat rate instead, rate, plus a $28 million settlement the average value of crude oil over
capped at $14 million per year, allow- over four years, as long as the City the year. Chevron subsequently sued
ing it to avoid disclosing its actual util- does not pursue legal action to ascer- the city in February 2009, asking the
ity usage. In 2006, when then-City tain Chevron’s actual utility usage. It courts to toss out Measure T. In the
Council member McLaughlin and is estimated that the city has lost over meantime, Chevron was required to
others started to question this unusual $200 million in revenue over the last pay the fee, which it did in April 2009.
arrangement, Chevron voluntarily 25 years because of Chevron’s refusal However, the city cannot touch these
dropped the cap and instead paid a to release this information. funds until the legal case is concluded,
fee based on a self-reported, unverifi- Pursuing another avenue to which could take years.
able usage, reducing its payment by compel Chevron to pay its fair share
some $4 million a year. The City in taxes, voters in 2008 approved Mea-

16 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

ago” ignited one of the worst explosions at the refinery.92
In March 1999, an 18,000 Pound plume of sulfur dioxide
smoke was released in the explosion: 10,000 residents were
told to remain inside for several hours, while those in the
closest neighborhoods were evacuated. “A column of thick,
acrid, foul-smelling smoke... killed trees and took the fur off
squirrels,” reported a resident.93

Public Health
The mayor of Richmond, Gayle McLaughlin, has
observed that the children in Richmond who suffer from
asthma “are hospitalized for this condition at twice the rate
of children throughout Contra Costa County,” in which
Richmond is located. “Time and again,” she writes, “the
Richmond City Council has heard testimony from residents
about the impact of refinery emissions on their lives: burn-
ing eyes, shortness of breath, foul smells, residues on cars
and windows. One senior citizen from Atchison Village talked cancers is more than double the county’s overall rate.95
about entire days when she is unable to leave her home, even to Mayor McLaughlin and community organizations such as
work in her garden, because of the noxious fumes that permeate West County Toxics Coalition and Communities for a Better
the air in her neighborhood.”94 Environment have tried to get Chevron to install state-of-the-
Chevron is one of four refineries in Contra Costa County. art pollution controls, to reduce toxic flaring further as other
Recent county health reports confirm that death rates from refineries have done, and to reduce air and water pollution.
cardiovascular and respiratory diseases are higher in Contra At a June 2008 hearing, a Chevron spokesman acknowledged
Costa County than statewide rates and are rising. Among the that the technology for the cleaner co-generation units which
15 most populous counties in California, Contra Costa ranked the company now plans to install have been available since
second in incidence rates for breast, ovarian, and prostate can- the 1970s. When asked by the Mayor why Chevron had not
cers. Richmond’s rate of hospitalization for female reproductive installed the cleaner units 30 years ago, he gave no answer.

The Community Responds to Chevron

By Jessica Tovar, Communities for a Better Environment

In 2008 several hearings were held In July 2008 the Richmond City sively in the local November elections
on Chevron’s application to expand its Council voted 5-4 to issue a permit and succeeded in helping to replace
refinery capacity to process dirtier crude for the refinery expansion. At the final two council members considered
oil at its Richmond refinery, including hearing, Chevron presented the City sympathetic to Chevron’s interests – a
tar sands. In response to this community Council with a $61 million so-called community doctor active in the fight
health threat, a coalition of groups formed “community benefits agreement.” This against the refinery expansion, Dr. Jeff
“RAEJ”— Richmond Alliance for Envi- CBA imposed significant obligations Ritterman, and incumbent council-
ronmental Justice, composed of grassroots on the City that could ultimately man, Tom Butt.
environmental justice organizations: Asian divest community power. Addition- In September 2008, CBE, APEN
Pacific Environmental Network, Com- ally, money for the programs the CBA and the West County Toxics Coalition,
munities for a Better Environment, West would fund are contingent upon represented by Earthjustice and CBE,
County Toxics Coalition, Richmond Pro- future approvals; and by shifting per- sued the City and Chevron under
gressive Alliance, Richmond Greens and mit conditions from the permit to the CEQA, arguing that the City approved
Atchison Village Environmental Com- CBA, enforceability is contingent on the Project without adequately describ-
mittee. These groups mobilized a diverse the City’s ongoing cooperation. Many ing the project, analyzing its impacts,
community of immigrants, working class community members were outraged, or mitigating significant impacts that
people and professionals from Richmond viewing this money as a bribe. People would negatively affect community
to the greater Bay Area. in the community campaigned aggres- health and the environment.

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 17

 CHEVRON’S PASCAGOULA REFINERY

Pascagoula, located on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, is home

to Chevron’s largest refinery—the 7th largest in the nation.
Chevron’s facility, situated on over 3,000 acres adjacent to the
Mississippi Sound, began operations in 1963. In addition to
processing 330,000 barrels, or 13.9 million gallons, of crude oil
per day, the facility is part of Chevron’s chemical business. Here
Chevron produces Benzene, a known carcinogen, and Par-
axylene, short-term exposure to which can cause eye, nose, or
throat irritation in humans, while chronic exposure can affect
the central nervous system and may cause death, according to
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In August 2007 a giant explosion rocked the facility. The
fire burned near the heart of the refinery, and 200-foot flames
were visible for miles down the Mississippi coast. Afterward,
Chevron offered free car washes to dislodge the thick layer of Fire burning at the Chevron refinery in Pascagoula, Mississippi,
black soot that had settled on nearby cars from the fire. The photograph by Christy Pritchett ran on August 17, 2007, Courtesy
of the Press-Register 2007 © All rights reserved. Reprinted with
cause of the explosion has yet to be publicly identified, and
permission.
phone calls to the refinery were not returned.

total 2006 population of just 130,863, Jackson County, with a

Pollution 16% poverty rate, had 622 incidents of cancer and 245 cancer
Chevron’s Pascagoula refinery is ranked as one of the deaths.101
“dirtiest/worst” facilities in the nation by “Scorecard,” which Robert Hardy, a local activist with Protect Our Coast,
compares EPA data across U.S. facilities.96 On every ranking has said, “The implications of [Chevron’s] planned expansion
but one, including “total environmental releases,” “air and water suggest enormous increases in their discharged TRI Carcino-
releases,” “air releases of recognized carcinogens,” “air releases of gens, which is beyond comprehension. The implications for the
recognized developmental toxicants,” and “air releases of recog- adverse impact to our community’s cancer incident and death
nized reproductive toxicants,” the facility ranked in the absolute rates are very hard to accept. What will be the impact on our
worst facilities in the nation (using 2002 data). grandchildrens’ health over the next 10-20 years?”102
The facility released more than 1,000,000 pounds of 47 Local politics is controlled by Chevron, with three of the
different toxic chemicals in 2007 alone, according to the U.S. five members of the Jackson County Board of Supervisors being
EPA, including over 50,000 pounds of Benzene and 150,000 former employees of Chevron, including the president.103 The
pounds of ammonia.97 result, according to Hardy, is identical to that in Richmond.
Chevron wants to expand production by 600,000 gallons While “Chevron doles corporate donations to local United
per day by mid-2010. To do so, it hopes to take advantage of a Way, schools, and other charitable events and always makes a
tax break offered to Jackson County because of Hurricane Ka- huge public relations deal of their corporate benevolence,” it is
trina, a 10-year tax exemption offered to all expanding indus- “getting away with significantly underpaying its taxes.”104
tries.98 The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
(DEQ) has found that Chevron’s proposed expansion, “will
Community Response
constitute a major modification due to emissions increases of
nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) exceeding The small but dedicated local activist community that
the significant emission rates designated in the regulations.”99 tries to hold these facilities to account has an enormous task set
Chevron is not alone in Jackson County; among its closest out for it, particularly because an estimated 95% of Pascagoula
neighbors is a giant DuPont chemical facility. The combined went under water with Hurricane Katrina. Many still live in
production has pushed Jackson County into the top 10% FEMA trailers to this day. The local Sierra Club and Protect
of U.S. counties with the highest amount of toxic chemi- Our Coast have both stood up to hold Chevron to account
cal releases. In 2007 more than 26 pounds of toxic chemicals and in firm opposition to the massive expansion planned at the
were released per person, or 3.4 million pounds.100 Out of a facility.

18 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

 CHEVRON’S PERTH AMBOY REFINERY
By CorpWatch

Chevron owns and operates an asphalt refinery, substances as product, and 20th among the top industrial emit-
producing about 80,000 barrels per day, near Perth Amboy in ters of cancer-causing substances.105 The Perth Amboy refinery
Middlesex County, New Jersey. Chevron took over the facility was also the 10th largest discharger of persistent, bio-accumula-
(built in 1920) in 1946. tive toxins to surface waterways in the state.106
That doesn’t include the impact from large accidental
releases such as the one that occurred on February 13, 2006,
Pollution when a barge offloading crude oil to a pipeline connected to the
Although the Chevron refinery is not the largest in the Perth Amboy facility spilled what the company itself estimated
region, it has contributed more than its fair share of pollution to be 31,000 gallons of crude oil. The oil leaked out of the
to a heavily-industrialized area that is already over-burdened pipeline into the nearby Arthur Kill, a tidal strait separating
with refineries, chemical plants, and other industrial sources of Staten Island from mainland New Jersey. The resulting oil slick
contamination. covered a stretch from Perth Amboy across the waterway to
According to the state’s Department of Environmental Staten Island and as far north as the Port Reading section of
Protection (DEP), Chevron’s Perth Amboy refinery ranks 17th Woodbridge, according to Raritan Riverkeepers, a leading local
among the top 20 facilities in the state for shipping hazardous environmental group.107

Chevron Sued for Massive Underground Brooklyn Oil Spill

Legal update from the Pace petroleum products into Newtown ment tactics, Riverkeeper allowed the
Law School Environmental Litigation Creek from a bulkhead owned by Peer- litigation to renew.
Clinic.112 less. However, as a result of ExxonMo- In February 2007 the State of
In 2004 Pace Environmental bil’s continued non-responsiveness to New York launched its own suit
Litigation Clinic, Inc, on behalf of Riverkeeper’s cleanup requests and the against Chevron, Exxon, and others
Riverkeeper and six plaintiffs, sued company’s apparently dilatory settle- for cleanup of the spill.
ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Peerless
Importers for violations of the Clean

© Copyright Riverkeeper, Inc.

Water Act and the Resource Conser-
vation and Recovery Act, stemming
from massive underground spills and
leaks of more than 17 million gallons
of petroleum products over the past
five decades. These pollutants have
contributed to the contamination
of the Brooklyn-Queens aquifer,
discharge into Newtown Creek, and
create a substantial and imminent
endangerment to the residents and
ecosystem of Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Riverkeeper granted ExxonMobil a
series of stays to the litigation to en-
courage the company to remediate the
pollution and its hazards. ExxonMobil
entered into a confidential agreement
with Chevron whereby Chevron
would actively remediate the seep of

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 19

 Lisa Jackson, then New Jersey’s Acting Environmental well as to promise to pay DEP’s assessment costs for cleaning
Protection Commissioner and today Secretary of the federal up the contaminated sites.109
EPA, complained that crude was continuing to leach into the Two years later, in June 2007, the New Jersey DEP and of-
waterway a week after the spill and that Chevron was not doing ficials from other states filed a series of civil complaints against
enough to stop it. “We are not pleased and not happy with Chevron and dozens of other oil companies for their use of
the incident management resources and structure Chevron has methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a gasoline additive and
out there,” Jackson said. “We still see significant and increasing suspected carcinogen found in contaminated drinking water
amounts of oil in the water.”108 supplies around the state.110 Just a year later, Chevron and seven
The state ultimately had to sue to get Chevron to pay of the other companies agreed to settle with New Jersey, New
for the clean up, reaching a $45,000 natural resource damage York, California, and 15 other states for $423 million and a
settlement with the New Jersey DEP and a separate $1 million pledge to pay 70% of future cleanup costs for up to 30 years.
settlement to the state’s attorney general. The larger amount Although MTBE was originally introduced in 1979 to increase
was turned over to Conservation Resources Inc., a non-profit octane levels in gasoline (and thus reduce air pollution), by
conservation finance intermediary, which used it to underwrite 2007 it was already banned in 23 states.111
a New York/New Jersey Baykeeper project to re-establish oyster
beds in New York/New Jersey Harbor, near Arthur Kill and
Community Response
Raritan Bay. Until decimated by pollution and over-fishing, the
harbor had been filled with oyster beds that supported a thriv- Community organizations such as New Jersey Sierra Club,
ing fishing industry. New Jersey Work Environment Council, and NJ/NY River-
The Arthur Kill spill was just the latest and most dramatic keeper are working to ensure that Chevron and the other host
in a series of incidents that led to a 2005 state-wide ground- of local corporate polluters reduce pollution, maintain transpar-
water damage settlement, covering 282 acres at 200 sites. In a ency in their operations, abide by state and federal laws, and
settlement with the state DEP, Chevron agreed to restore and keep the harbor and surrounding areas clean and safe for the
deed restrict 11 acres of salt marsh along Woodbridge Creek, as local communities.

Utah Supreme Court Upholds Chevron Employee Suit

On February 13, 2009 the Utah When refinery employee Jenna eventually came to, she stopped the
Supreme Court upheld a Chevron Helf arrived for the evening shift, her process, suffering severe effects of ex-
employee’s right to sue the company supervisor directed her to go to the posure to high levels of toxic gases. She
for her injuries suffered in a serious in- open-air pit to start the neutralization was not provided with any treatment
dustrial accident at Chevron’s refinery process. She was not told about the or information about the chemicals to
near Salt Lake City. earlier reaction, nor was she told about which she had been exposed.
According to the Court’s written the hazardous conditions indicated by The Utah Labor Commission
opinion,113 the plaintiff alleges the fol- the plant alarms or about the employ- cited Chevron for these events, award-
lowing. That Chevron tried a new, less ees who were sent home due to illness. ing Helf $7,880.37, and ordered
expensive method of neutralizing spent She was not instructed that she would Chevron to pay her medical bills. Helf
toxic sludge. When the neutralization need respiratory protection for this then sued Chevron in district court,
process began, a noxious purple cloud job, despite the fact that her supervi- arguing that her injuries resulted from
containing toxic chemical compounds sors knew that injury was substantially its intentional misconduct. The initial
was released. The cloud drifted across certain to occur, if she initiated the case was dismissed, but the Utah
the Refinery, setting off alarms and chemical reaction without it. Supreme Court overturned the district
causing several Chevron employees, Helf followed the instructions court’s dismissal, finding “We reverse
some of whom were hundreds of yards given to her by her supervisor. The the district court’s dismissal because
away, to fall ill and be sent home. In neutralization process produced the Helf ’s complaint successfully alleged
the aftermath, Chevron did not take same predictable and violent reaction facts demonstrating that her injury was
any safety measures but instead re- that occurred earlier that day: the the expected result of reinitiating the
sumed the process later in the evening release of a purple cloud containing neutralization process such that her
after a shift change and under cover of noxious gases. The gases caused Helf injury was intentional, not accidental
night. to vomit and pass out. When she or negligent.”

20 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

III. Around the World
CHEVRON IN ANGOLA

Chevron has been in Angola since the 1930s, Agostinho Chicaia is the president of Mpalabanda. Amnesty
when Texaco began marketing there. In 1958 Cabinda Gulf International released a statement forcefully condemning the
Oil Co., Chevron’s Angolan subsidiary, drilled its first well. ban, stating, “Amnesty International considers [Mpalabanda’s]
The company has dominated oil production in Angola ever members to be human rights defenders... Its closure will leave
since. Today, Chevron has four Angolan concessions, the Cabinda, an area rife with egregious violations of human
most important of which are the massive offshore Benguela rights, without a human rights organisation to monitor
Belize–Lobito Tomboco and the $3.8 billion Tombua-Landana and record violations of human rights.”116 An international
projects. Also in 2008, construction outcry followed, universally
Paul Caulfield (©Ignea.org)

began on a 5.2 million-metric-ton- acknowledging the peaceful and

per-year liquefied natural gas plant. vital work of Mpalabanda.
Angola is the second-largest oil
producer in sub-Saharan Africa and
Chevron in Cabinda
the world’s seventh-largest supplier
(Angola)
to the United States. Yet its health
indicators are some of the worst Statement by Agostinho
in sub-Saharan Africa, sixty eight Chicaia, Extinta Mpalabanda
percent of the population lives Associação Cívica de Cabinda
below the poverty line, and 28% (MACC), Cabinda, Angola
live in extreme poverty.114
Chevron operated in Angola
when it was a Portuguese colony, Labor Policies
through a bloody 14-year armed Discrimination is rampant
struggle to independence in 1975, in the treatment given to
and through a 27-year brutal civil Cabindan vs Luandan—or the
war ending in 2002, which left remainder of Angolan employees.
as many as one million Angolans We believe that in the last two
dead, 4.5 million internally years, Chevron has required the
displaced, and another 450,000 as compulsory transfer of many
refugees. Since the end of the Civil Cabinda-based administrative
War the government has remained personnel to Luanda. Angola’s
rife with corruption, such that Luanda, Angola 2006
General Labour Law requires that
Transparency International ranks employees be compensated for expenses related to transfers,
it as one of the most corrupt governments in the world, and including “expenses related to the employee himself or the
Amnesty International describes its human rights record as family members for whom the employee is responsible.” We
“poor” and “plagued” by serious problems. believe that Chevron has adhered to this law only in the case
Cabinda is the heart of Angola’s oil production. The of non-Cabinda employees. This transfer process to Luanda
twenty-four-hour oil operations there are, as lawyer and is extremely precarious. It has been dividing and destroying
journalist Daphne Eviatar writes, “what financed the families, as the Cabindan transferred employees’ earnings are
government’s army during a civil war ... And they’re the most not enough to cover the costs incurred for their families.
obvious sign of the West’s relentless tentacles reaching into
Angola today.”115
In 2006, the Angolan government banned Mpalabanda Human Rights
(Associação Cívica de Cabinda), the only human rights There have been murmurs and claims all over: we hear
organization operating in Cabinda. The group focused not only shouts of indignation and revolt from employees or members
on abuses by the government, but also by the oil companies. of the communities against Chevron’s way of doing things.

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 21

Employees’ rights are simply violated, ignored, and denied; center there, but these projects are very far from the real
there is discrimination in the workplace, particularly over problems, concerns, and needs of the communities. Chevron
wages. The employees’ Trade Unions encounter a number prospers and enriches itself, while the local communities
of difficulties in exercising their role, as Chevron does not get poorer and poorer, more and more miserable, more and
allow it. Collective bargaining is not welcomed. Many times more vulnerable. The very little that Chevron does that is
employees are unfairly terminated, in total violation of their not done unilaterally, without considering the opinions and
rights. Furthermore, there is no distinction between human the priorities of the communities. They don’t walk the talk,
rights and politics, so talking about human rights is considered considering what they preach themselves. There is neither
a provocation to the government. Standing up for your rights is dialogue nor are there objective partnerships or common
considered being ungrateful or lacking respect. Dialogue does goals between themselves and the communities. Cabinda does
not exist, and when they talk about “dialogue,” it is to simply not in any way reflect the oil-producing giant that generates
communicate decisions already made or to seek pretexts to take scandalous amounts of money for the Angolan government as
actions, because anything you say may be used against you. well as Chevron itself.
Chevron says that it recently created a Social Responsibility
team to mitigate daily criticisms and to create an internal forum
Environment to discuss issues related to social responsibility, environmental
The local communities do not derive any real benefits problems, health, and safety. But, thus far, these efforts are
from activities undertaken in their geographical areas. The unproductive, and civil society monitoring capabilities are not
communities’ quality of life and living standards continue to yet up to the task.
deteriorate. The environment has been increasingly degraded.
The impact of the pollution has been trivialized by Chevron,
particularly with the successive oil spills in Cabinda. No
What the Communities Want
independent environmental impact study has been produced We find that extractive industry practices in Cabinda only
to evaluate the present state of our beaches, the deteriorated stress and deepen poverty levels, for Chevron pollutes and
mangroves areas, the affected ecosystems in the sea, on the destroys the environment, accentuates social injustice, stops
earth, and the transfer to rivers. development, and sows frustration. As such, local communities
In a rare government action in 2002, Chevron was and the Cabindan people demand more social, environmental,
fined $2 million by Angola’s Ministry of Fisheries and the and economic responsibility on Chevron’s part and for
Environment for oil spills from its platform that polluted themselves. Environmental organizations such as Gremio ABC
beaches and damaged the local fishing industry. A government specifically demand that Chevron finally replace its old leaking
investigation found that leaks from poorly maintained pipes oil pipelines.
used to transport crude oil from the platform were the cause of Mpalabanda-Cabinda Civic Association, illegally abolished
the spills. With most oil spills, however, we find that Chevron by the Cabinda Court of Justice as ordered by the Cabinda
will deny responsibility and accuse operators in neighbouring Provincial Government (and mandated by the Presidency of
countries. On the few occasions when Chevron has accepted the Republic Military House), has always held that there was
responsibility, we have found the number of barrels of oil excessive pressure over the oil exploration in Cabinda, which
spilled was generally below 50 in order to avoid being penalized prepared the ground for successive oil spills. It was absurd to
under Angolan law. To indemnify the fishermen, the main deplete all the Cabinda reserves today only to inherit serious
victims, Chevron dictates the indemnification value without environmental problems tomorrow. Mpalabanda demanded the
proper serious and transparent negotiation. development of an independent environmental impact study to
determine the marine resources contamination levels. It asked
the Angolan Government to regulate the basic environmental
What Chevron Says laws and the capacity building of the local structures for a joint
Lately, Chevron has carried out some projects to benefit monitoring of the oil exploration activities in Cabinda with
the communities. Chevron builds one school here, a medical civil society.

“The solution? As a last resort, discontinue Chevron’s oil exploration in Cabinda,

as it is the mother of our disgrace, bringing poverty, environmental problems, and
armed conflict.”
—Agostinho Chicaia, Angola

22 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

 CHEVRON IN BURMA
By EarthRights International

In 1992 the French oil company Total signed a Where specifically does the Yadana project revenue go? In
contract with the Burmese military to develop offshore natural 2007, nearly 75% of the total project income went directly to
gas fields in the Andaman Sea and pipe the gas to Thailand the Burmese military—approximately $972 million—almost
through an overland pipeline.117 Chevron (then Unocal), be- one billion dollars.124 There is no revenue transparency in
came a partner in the project, dubbed Yadana, shortly thereaf- Burma, and Chevron and Total have not published their pay-
ter, in early 1993.118 The consortium was subsequently joined ments to the regime.
in 1995 by PTT Exploration & Production (PTTEP),119 a A report issued in 2008 by the NGO EarthRights Interna-
subsidiary of Thailand’s state-owned oil tional (ERI) documents continued seri-
and gas company, PTT, and later that ous abuses by the Burmese military on
year by the Myanmar Oil & Gas Enter- behalf of Chevron and its partners. A
prise (MOGE), an arm of the Burmese defected soldier reported in 2008 that:
military’s Ministry of Energy. Total and We ask these people to carry shell
Chevron hold the largest stakes in the ammunition, food, and supplies . . .
project, at about 31.25% and 28.25%, During the portering the soldiers
respectively, with PTTEP following at treat porters not so good. I do not
25.5% and MOGE with 15%.120 want to mention about these bad
things so much since I myself I
Human Rights Abuse have done it to these people . . .125
The Yadana project has led to Villagers are regularly forced to
widespread human rights abuses, perform security tasks such as sentry
including forced labor, murder, rape, duty on the pipeline. A refugee from
forced relocation of villages, and other Kanbauk described being forced by the
serious abuses against communities army to take up sentry duty along the
living in and around the project area.121 pipeline route:
These abuses are ongoing.122 During the We also had to work on the Yadana
construction phase of the project in the pipeline. . . . We had to work on
early 1990s reports from the communi- this kind of forced labor by rota-
ties in the pipeline area, and from refu- tion and one person from a house-
gees and human rights workers in the hold had to go for it. Usually, there
region, reported a massive increase both Jane Doe 1, a plaintiff in Doe v. Unocal, were three persons that had to take
in military presence and the human with her baby after it was kicked into a fire
by Burmese military working for Yadana responsibility at one sentry hut . . .
rights abuses that the Burmese military companies. (The child later died.) We could not refuse going for this.
regularly commits. Pipeline security If we are not free in the time of our
forces routinely conscripted villagers for severe forced labor duty, we have to find a replacement by hiring someone.
projects, including building infrastructure for the project and There are many elders around 60 years old and children
portering heavy loads for military patrols, as well as committing under 18 years old being forced to work this kind of
torture, rape, and murder. The abuses continued as gas began to forced labor. As for me, I had to work for this kind of
flow in 1998 and have continued to the present. forced labor many times.126
Chevron and its partners have also played a major role
in propping up the brutal regime in Burma. The Yadana Gas Violence is also common. A local villager from Law Ther
project is the single largest source of income for the Burmese who objected to pipeline security soldiers stealing logs intended
junta.123 The Yadana project does little to benefit the Burmese for a local school reported that:
economy, while lining the pockets of the Burmese generals The officer . . . turned to me and he slapped my face
and enabling military spending at the expense of the peoples’ twice, then he punched my stomach and when I tried
welfare. to cover it he kicked my groin. I fell on the ground.127

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 23

 Chevron has refused
to acknowledge both
the widespread human
rights abuses caused
by its Yadana project
and the destructive
effects that revenue
from the project has
had in Burma. Instead
of addressing concerns,
Chevron and its
partners have denied
the existence of and
their responsibility
for abuses and instead
have established socio-
economic programs
of questionable utility.
People in the project
area and concerned
stakeholders are in
agreement that there
What Chevron Says are no offsets. Chevron and its partners cannot escape
Chevron, along with its Yadana partners, continues their culpability by building schools or health clinics.
to publish blatant lies and distortions and to
misrepresent conditions in the pipeline area, which Chevron Should
mislead investors and other stakeholders regarding Chevron, along with their Yandana partners, should pub-
the true effects of its presence in Burma. These licly condemn past and on-going human rights abuses caused
companies work with groups with little connection by their project and use their influence with the military junta,
their business partner, to press for respect for human rights, not
to the local population, who use fatally flawed only in the pipeline region itself but throughout the country.
methodology that leads to inaccurate reporting. To The Yadana companies today can and should immediately
wit, Chevron and its partners have recently released stop relying on the Burmese military for any security or other
statements on conditions in the pipeline area, services and provide adequate human rights training and super-
including: vision of security services in order to ensure respect for funda-
mental human rights. The companies should allow independent
[T]he main benefit of Total’s initiative is its very pres- third-parties with experience in documenting human rights
ence, which has guaranteed peace in the area for all eth- abuses in Burma access to the pipeline region, without military
nic groups and has also eradicated forced labour.128 supervision, in order to monitor the situation and provide a
mechanism to allow local residents to bring complaints to an
Indeed, according to the ILO, the only region in the independent body on a confidential basis. Chevron and its part-
country in which forced labor has ceased is the area in ners should provide adequate compensation to all individuals
which the Yadana gas pipeline was built.129 and communities harmed by the Yadana Project and demon-
strate a serious commitment to their socio-economic program
Our community development programs in Myanmar by expanding it to include all of the villages that have suffered
also help improve the lives of the people and communi- adverse impacts from the Yadana Project. Chevron should
cate our values, including respect for human rights.130 disclose all Yadana-related payments made to government and
state-owned or state-controlled partners in Burma.

24 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

 CHEVRON IN CANADA
By Rainforest Action Network

Chevron is involved in two separate projects in the Environmental Devastation

tar sands, the Athabasca Oil Sands Project (AOSP) and the
Ells River Project. Chevron holds a 20% interest in the AOSP, With its considerable investments in expanding tar sands
a mining development 60% owned and operated by Royal production and refining capacity, Chevron is placing a major
Dutch Shell. Chevron’s 2008 10-K tax filing with the SEC bet on a fuel source that is dirtier to mine, process, and refine.
states that the company is netting an average 27,000 barrels per Its extraction releases many times more greenhouse gas than
day from the AOSP. The mine has so far produced more than conventional crude oil. The energy intensive process used to
175 million barrels of bitumen over its lifetime. An expansion produce synthetic crude oil from tar sands generates three to
is expected to increase daily production to more than 255,000 five times more global warming pollution than does conven-
barrels per day by late 2010 at a cost of more than $2 billion to tional oil production. Mining projects such as the AOSP require
Chevron. four tons of earth and as many as five barrels of water per just
Chevron has a 60% operating interest in the Ells River one barrel of oil, most of which ends up in vast toxic lakes.132
Project, a growing “in-situ” development encompassing a The open-air lakes leak toxic chemicals into groundwater
total of 75,520 acres of oil bearing sands with an estimated and river systems and emit thousands of tons of volatile organic
7.5 billion barrels of oil in place. The company has completed compounds (“VOCs”) into the air, including benzene, a known
an appraisal drilling program and a seismic survey. Chevron human carcinogen. Last spring, over 1,600 ducks died from
has begun another seismic survey for this in-situ project that landing in one of these toxic lakes. University of Alberta Ecolo-
was completed in March 2009. The Ells River project will use gist David Schindler observed that “[i]f any of those tailings
steam-assisted gravity drainage, an energy-intensive process that ponds were ever to breach and discharge into the [Athabasca Riv-
injects steam underground to leech bitumen from the sand. The er], the world would forever forget about the Exxon Valdez.“133
project aims to produce 100,000 barrels by 2015. Much of this Refining the dirty crude oil extracted from tar sands pro-
increased production is designed to feed into a network of long- duces higher emissions of harmful pollutants, including sulfur
lived infrastructure that will effectively lock in North American dioxide (SO2), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), sulfuric acid mist, and
oil dependency for decades to come. Five new trans-continental nitrogen oxides (NOX), as well as toxic metals such as lead and
pipelines and more than 20 newly expanded oil refineries are nickel compounds. Environmental damage caused by these
being planned to bring growing supplies of tar sands crude to pollutants includes acid rain; concentration of toxic chemicals
the U.S. market. up the food chain; the creation of ground-level ozone and
Aside from increasing global warming pollution, the dirtier smog; visible impairments that migrate to sensitive areas such
crude oils produced from tar sands also require more intensive as National Parks; and depletion of soil nutrients.134 The more
refining. Since 2007, Chevron has won local battles to expand energy-intensive refining of tar sand oil may also produce more
its refineries in Richmond and El Segundo, California to con- greenhouse gas than conventional crudes.
vert the heavy crude oils produced in the tar sands to gasoline Chevron’s investment represents an entrenched commitment
and other consumer and commercial products. to perpetuating U.S. reliance on oil as our primary source of
energy into the next generation and beyond and to ensuring that
this reliance will be based on Canadian tar sands—even dirtier
and more destructive sources of oil than conventional crude oil.

“Our message is plain and clear, we have to slow down industry to let us catch
up. … If we continue to let industry and government behave the way they’ve been
behaving the last 40 years, there will be no turnback because it will be the total
destruction of the land.”
—Alan Adam, Chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation131

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 25

What Chevron Says Indigenous communities living downstream from the tar
sands have become increasingly vocal about the threats posed
Despite rising production costs and plummeting oil prices, by expansion of tar sands mining operations on water qual-
Chevron remains committed to increasing tar sands produc- ity and community health. Chiefs from more than two dozen
tion. Responding to shareholder complaints about these risky First Nations in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and
bets, Chevron said in its 2008 proxy solicitation that it “has the Northwest Territories issued a joint resolution calling for a
observed comprehensive procedures to better assess, understand moratorium on tar sands development. “Our message is plain
and minimize the environmental impacts of its operations in and clear,” said Alan Adam, Chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan
various areas around the globe, including in Athabasca and Ells First Nation, “We have to slow down industry to let us catch
River” and its “continued efforts to reduce emissions of green- up. … If we continue to let industry and government behave
house gases and increase energy efficiency.” However, despite the way they’ve been behaving the last 40 years, there will be no
28% of shareholders voting in 2008 in support of a resolution turnback because it will be the total destruction of the land.”136
at Chevron, asking for increased disclosure on the company’s In California, community-based organizations fighting
tar sands projects, the company hasn’t agreed to improve its refinery pollution are also proposing alternatives. A recommen-
reporting. This year, Chevron was successful in excluding the dation to the US EPA regarding the increase of dirty oil imports
resolution from its proxy statement, reducing transparency on from Canada issued by Richmond, California’s Communities
the issue even further. for a Better Environment (CBE) proposed a “crude cap” that
would limit the ability of refineries to process dirty crude oils.
Community Demands CBE argued that a crude cap would have the effect of capping
increased pollution associated with refining dirty tar sands
Communities at both ends of Chevron’s dirty oil develop- oil.137
ment are fighting for a future free of the dirty fossil fuels that The path for Chevron is clear. As described in the CBE
present a growing threat to health and the environment. In letter, “Only by redirecting the national treasure now being
Canada, northern Indigenous First Nations, on whose land sucked from the gas pump into ever-dirtier oil extraction and
much of the production takes place, are calling for green jobs refining, and putting it toward the monumental work of build­
that promote sustainable economic development and a halt to ing a sustainable energy infrastructure, can we achieve our full
further expansion of the tar sands, saying the massive industrial potential for environmental and economic health. We cannot
growth is hurting their land, their water, and their people.135 afford to waste this opportunity.”

© Jiri Rezac 2007

PHOTO: Muskeg River Mine, part of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project.

26 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

 CHEVRON AND THE CHAD-CAMEROON OIL & PIPELINE
PROJECT

Edited by Antonia Juhasz from Korinna Horta, Environ-

Korinna Horta
mental Defense; Samuel Nguiffo, Center for Environ-
ment and Development; and Delphine Djiraibe, Chadian
Association for the Promotion and Defense of Human
Rights, “The Chad-Cameroon Oil & Pipeline Project: a
Project Non-Completion Report,” April 2007.1

“They promised us jobs.

They took everything from us.
They took our land.
They took our forest.
They took our water.”
Sama Bailie of Cameroon, on the Chad-Cameroon pipeline.138
The polluted well of Nkoltara village located near the pipeline,
Intense preparations for the Chad-Cameroon
October 2005.
pipeline began in 1997. In 1999, Chadian groups released the
Bebedja Declaration, calling for a moratorium on financing Chad had no previous experience dealing with interna-
the project until conditions and government capacity were in tional oil companies, and while an income of 40% to 60% of
place to protect human rights and the environment and ensure oil sales is the norm for African oil producing countries, Chad
equitable use of oil revenues. By late 1999, the project appeared is reported to receive just 12.5%.
doomed when, under massive public opposition, Shell and To- The project has fueled violence, impoverished people in
talFinalElf dropped out of the consortium. Project leader Exx- the oil fields and along the pipeline route, exacerbated the pres-
onMobil (40%) saved the project when Chevron and Malaysia’s sures on indigenous peoples, and created new environmental
Petronas, undeterred by the local and global opposition, joined problems. The money from the oil has paid for arms that have
the project at 25% and 35% interests, respectively. fueled Chad’s civil war and the neighboring and associated
On October 10, 2003, a coalition of Chadian civil society conflict in Darfur.
groups called for a national day of mourning on the inaugu-
ration of the project. The groups continued to warn of the
Violence
likelihood of mass environmental and human rights abuse and
that Chadian oil revenues “will only be another weapon in the Chad’s President Deby came to power in a military coup in
hands of a plundering oligarchy used to oppress the Chadian 1990. Chadian human rights organizations, as well as the U.S.
people.”139 State Department, painted a picture of a dismal lack of respect
for human rights at the time of project preparations in the late
1990s. Amnesty International documented the massacre of
The Project unarmed civilians in southern Chad in the oil region in 1998
The Project originally involved drilling 300 oil wells in the and the U.S. Peace Corps withdrew all its volunteers from Chad
Doba fields of southern Chad and the construction and opera- because of the spread of violence. Repression and intimidation
tion of a 650-mile pipeline to transport oil from those fields were ever present in southern Chad where the oil is buried.
to an export terminal facility in Cameroon. Along the way, the The risks that the ruling elite from the country’s northern clans
pipeline passes through rainforest, pygmy territories, and major would use violence to secure the oil in the disenfranchised
food and cotton producing areas. Together, they represent one south were evident.
of the largest industrial projects ever done in Africa and the In January 2001 it became public that Chad has used part
single largest on-shore investment in Africa today. The project of its $25 million signature bonus from the oil consortium for
has since expanded as active exploration occurs for new wells weapons purchases.
near Sarh, and new oil fields have already been developed out- In a 2006 survey, the World Bank reported that people
side the original Doba fields. in the oil zone unanimously raised concerns about the lack of
1
Unless otherwise noted, all references sourced from this paper.

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 27

security and were told that the gendarmes assigned to protect tion. The World Bank has also found that oil flaring remains a
the oil zone were harshly enforcing an unofficial curfew in the serious health risk and concern for local communities.
zone. For several years the World Bank has documented rob- Local livelihoods have been deeply affected by the envi-
bery, pillage, and banditry in the oil region that not only goes ronmental degradation brought about by the project, and the
unpunished but also usually involves the security forces. Chad- loss of land has been one of the most measurable impacts. In an
ian human rights activists who try to assist the local population economy largely based on subsistence farming, land is a ques-
are jailed and threatened with death. tion of life and death. According to the World Bank, the project
has taken twice the amount of land as originally estimated, and
the number of now “non-viable” households has risen more
Employment than three-fold.
During peak construction in 2002 an estimated 6,000 Lack of communication is ongoing. For example, in Janu-
workers were employed in Cameroon, but by 2007, the number ary 2007, an oil spill occurred on the Cameroonian coast. Little
was less than 1,000. The ill-treatment of workers, including information was provided on the extent of the spill. Despite
their imprisonment, is documented by Cameroonian organiza- the fact that international and domestic media were reporting
tions and the International Federation of Building and Wood the news of the spill, the first official information from the oil
Workers in Geneva. The unions reported that the companies consortium was only available four days after the incident, and
involved in the project were using the dire economic situation the government has never issued a statement on the issue.140
in both Chad and Cameroon to exploit workers, paying them
low wages and providing poor working conditions as well as
inadequate housing and food.
What Chevron Says
In its “Chad Fact Sheet” Chevron writes that its involve-
ment in the Chad-Cameroon project “further demonstrates the
Devastation of Local Environment and Liveli- company’s commitment to fostering economic and social de-
hoods velopment in sub-Saharan Africa. The project is providing jobs,
The pipeline cuts across sensitive and valuable ecosystems, local business opportunities and other benefits for the people of
particularly in Cameroon’s coastal rainforest, and traverses Chad and the greater region.” It cites the consortium’s support
several major rivers. As reported by Friends of the Earth-Inter- of health and education initiatives, including HIV/AIDS and
national, during construction, thousands of people had their malaria education and prevention programs, among others.
lands expropriated, crops and other plants destroyed, and water
sources polluted without adequate compensation. Some victims
Community Demands
received no compensation whatsoever, including the Bakola
and Bagyeli pygmies in the forests of Cameroon. While the oil Local organizations and the international community
consortium claims to have “consulted” with the Bagyeli, the have called on the companies and the World Bank to ensure
Chad-Cameroon Oil & Pipeline Project finds that “there was adequate compensation and restoration of livelihoods in the oil
no consultation in the proper sense of the word.” For example, producing region; to ensure participation by indigenous and
the flyers and brochures that were distributed to the communi- other local peoples and ensure their right of ownership to the
ty were of little use, given that the Bagyeli have an oral tradition land that they traditionally occupy; to resolve problems of dust
and are 98% illiterate. pollution, hazardous waste, and general public health; and to
The lack of compensation has been widespread across both scan all regional compensation projects for defects and identify
nations. Bishop Michael Russo of Doba, the main town in the solutions and resolve outstanding grievances. Amnesty Inter-
oil-producing region, for example, reports that prostitution, national has found specific fault with the contract arrangement
alcoholism, and environmental degradation have become wide- won by the consortium and has called for a renegotiation.141
spread and that local communities have seen no benefits from Many local and international organizations also demand that
the project. A Cameroonian study on HIV/AIDS along the the consortium reject the use of or support for the notoriously
pipeline corridor found a marked increase of the rate of infec- violent and corrupt military of Chad.

28 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

 CHEVRON IN ECUADOR
By Amazon Watch

In 1964, Texaco (now Chevron), discovered oil in of cancer, birth defects, and spontaneous miscarriages. In the
the remote northern region of the Ecuadorian Amazon, known almost two decades since Texaco abandoned its disaster in Ecua-
as the Oriente. Prior to this, the indigenous inhabitants of this dor, the company has never cleaned up the mess it is respon-
pristine rainforest, including the Cofán, Siona, Secoya, Kichwa, sible for, and the legacy of oily waste continues to poison the
and Huaorani, lived traditional lifestyles largely untouched by rainforest ecosystem to this day.
modern civilization. The forests and rivers provided the physical Scientific surveys, attempting to quantify the health impact
and cultural subsistence base for their daily survival. of Texaco’s operations in Ecuador, have confirmed what local
From 1964 to 1990, Texaco produced oil in the Oriente. people know from their own experience: rates of cancer, includ-
In violation of existing environmental laws142 and industry ing mouth, stomach, and uterine cancer, are elevated in areas
standards,143 Texaco made deliberate, cost-cutting decisions144 where there is oil contamination.152 A court-appointed indepen-
in the design, construction, and operation of a sub-standard oil dent expert in the ongoing trial to hold Chevron responsible
extraction infrastructure that resulted in an environmental ca- for the massive contamination in the region estimated that
tastrophe that experts have dubbed a “Rainforest Chernobyl.“145 Texaco is responsible for 1,401 cancer deaths.153 Other studies
In a rainforest area roughly the size of the state of Rhode have found high rates of childhood leukemia,154 as well as an
Island, Texaco dug over 350 oil wells, and upon leaving the abnormal number of miscarriages.155 Children whose mothers
country in 1992, abandoned at least 916 open, unlined toxic were exposed to contaminated water have been born with birth
waste pits.146 These pits continue to pollute the environment, defects.156
contaminating the water table and polluting the rivers and Oil production has also irreversibly altered and degraded
streams that 30,000 people depend on for drinking, cooking, an environment that people have called home for millennia. By
bathing, and fishing. Texaco also spilled roughly 17 million gal- the time it left in 1992, Texaco had aggressively built hundreds
lons of crude oil,147 and dumped more than 18 billion gallons of miles of roads. These roads served as arteries into what was
of toxic and highly saline “formation waters“—a byproduct once impenetrable rainforest, and were subsequently used by a
of the drilling process—into the rivers of the Oriente.148 Such wave of migrants—many drawn by job potential in the boom-
dumping was outlawed in major US oil producing states such as ing oil fields—to colonize the area and dispossess indigenous
Louisiana and Texas decades before the company began opera- peoples of their ancestral territory.
tions in Ecuador,149 and was in contravention of the company’s Indigenous peoples who knew the forest intimately and
legal and contractual obligations in the country.150 By handling lived sustainably off its resources for countless generations have
its toxic waste in Ecuador in ways that were illegal in its home found themselves forced into dire poverty, unable to make a
country and inappropriate for use in the sensitive ecosystem living in their traditional ways when the rivers and forests are
of the rainforest, Texaco saved an estimated $8.31 billion.151 empty of fish and game. The physical ailments they suffer from
Again, this was a conscious, informed bottom-line decision. oil pollution are accentuated by the cultural impoverishment
that the oil industry has brought to the region, in many cases
amounting to the almost total loss of ancient traditions and
Devastation wisdom.
The result of Texaco’s reckless dumping was, and continues When Texaco left Ecuador in 1992, it turned over its entire
to be, one of the worst environmental disasters on the planet. outdated oil operation and crumbling infrastructure to the
Contamination of soil, groundwater, and surface streams has country’s state oil company, Petroecuador. Using the very same
caused local indigenous and campesino people to suffer a wave technology, Petroecuador continued to pollute, slowly modern-

“The stream was 50 meters from our house and chemicals were dumped into it. Oh,
the smell was awful! The water ran like a natural stream, but it was warm toxic
waste water. We had headaches, dizziness, stomachaches.... Our children loved to
fish and swim in the river. They came home covered in crude. We fried the fish they
caught and the fish tasted like diesel.”
—Shuar indigenous man living near Texaco Auca oil field

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 29

izing its operations over time,157 but with a long way to go in up its share of contamination, and any continuing problems
improving its environmental record. Meanwhile, Texaco con- are the responsibility of state-owned Petroecuador. In reality,
ducted a sham “clean-up” of less than 1% of the damage at its Chevron has arbitrarily set a grossly inflated standard for the ac-
former sites beginning in 1995,158 in most cases merely covering ceptable level of hydrocarbons in the soil at “remediated“ sites,
open pits with dirt or burning off the crude by-products. five times higher than that allowed in sensitive ecosystems like
the Amazon rainforest, even under the relatively lax Ecuador-
ian law.159 Furthermore, scientific tests show that many sites
What Chevron Says Chevron claims were remediated in the 1990s do not even meet
Chevron argues that the 1995 remediation conducted by this standard.160 In what amounts to a massive fraud, Chevron
Texaco (which Chevron purchased in 2001) adequately cleaned scientists used an inappropriate laboratory test that was physi-

Implications for Chevron Shareholders

The current global economic claims that it is not subject to jurisdic- a result. They request that the Board
crisis of mortgage meltdowns, banking tion in Ecuador and that statutes of prepare a report to assess adequacy of
collapse, and massive Bernie Madoff- limitation come into play.  environmental laws in any host coun-
style fraud has Wall Street reeling Yet it is undisputed that Chevron try where Chevron operates. All Chev-
and investors more cautious than stipulated before a U.S. federal court ron shareholders should be concerned
ever. Investors are entitled by law to that it would voluntarily submit to about the company’s neglect of basic
proper risk disclosure, transparency, jurisdiction in Ecuador’s courts and regulatory compliance and fiduciary
and accountability. Disturbingly, just waive statute of limitation defense as a responsibility, and regulatory agencies
as the market cries for stability and condition of the case being transferred should be scrutinizing whether Chev-
transparency, Chevron is engaged in a to that country (over the objections ron is violating its disclosure obliga-
disinformation campaign regarding its of the plaintiffs). The order grant- tions under the law.
potential $27 billion liability in Ecua- ing Chevron’s motion to transfer the The impending liability in Ecua-
dor that keeps its own shareholders in case, signed on June 21, 2001 by U.S. dor has become an albatross around
the dark and ignores important lessons federal Judge Jed S. Rakoff and lawyers Chevron’s neck, creating a huge po-
learned from the current economic for both parties, is unequivocal on this tential liability and causing enormous
crisis. point.170  Chevron also claims in its public relations problems. Chevron’s
In the Aguinda v. Chevron litiga- SEC filings that it was released from utter failure to acknowledge responsi-
tion, the company has refused to fully government claims in Ecuador based bility in Ecuador threatens to place the
and adequately disclose its potential on a purported clean-up. A court- company at a competitive disadvantage
liability. Instead, it is misleading share- appointed expert already has found around the world, as local communi-
holders about its financial exposure that the clean-up was at best ineffec- ties and national governments place a
in the case. Despite the 2008 finding tive and at worst a fraud, and that the greater premium on operational prac-
that damages to Chevron could reach release does not apply to the claims of tices in the oil industry that respect
$27.3 billion—an amount greater than the private citizens bringing the case. the environment—in vivid contrast
the record profits from its global op- These examples, drawn from public to Chevron’s approach in Ecuador,
erations that same year—the company record, illustrate the blatant disregard Nigeria, Burma, and the Philippines.
has not fully, honestly, and accurately that Chevron management has dem- Chevron’s management has proven
disclosed this exposure consistent onstrated toward its own shareholders that it is utterly unwilling to con-
with its legal obligations. Not only and its legal obligation to accurately front the legacy of its involvement in
did Chevron’s management refuse to disclose potential liabilities. Ecuador, a fact that poses a tremen-
disclose the potential Ecuador liability A recent Wall Street Journal article dous threat to shareholder value and
until last year—a full 15 years after the (“Pension Funds Fret as Chevron Faces the long-term growth prospects of the
legal case was filed by thousands of Ec- Ecuador Ruling,” April 8, 2009) is company. Chevron shareholders are
uadorian citizens—but the company’s right on target. The article reports that now asking hard, detailed questions of
last four filings with the SEC con- several large public pension funds that management about what promises to
tain verbatim language that presents collectively control over $1 billion in be the largest civil judgment in history
misleading or incorrect information Chevron stock have expressed concern for an environmental case.
intended to downplay the company’s over the Ecuador liability and plan to
exposure.169  Chevron, for example, vote for a shareholder resolution as

30 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

cally incapable of detecting significant levels of oily waste in trial and recommended that Chevron be held liable for damages
order to “prove” that they had remediated the sites and secure between $7 billion and $16.3 billion.165 That assessment of the
a release from the Ecuadorian government.161 This release and damages was upped to $27 billion in November 2008, reflect-
the inadequate clean-up effort that preceded it are now the ing contamination, cancer deaths, and clean up costs previously
subject of a fraud indictment in Ecuador against two Chevron unaccounted for.166 The report now goes to the judge, who is
attorneys and seven former government officials.162 expected to issue a verdict in the fall of 2009.
Chevron claims that regardless of any allegations of fraud, Groups outside Ecuador, including Amazon Watch, coop-
it was released by the Ecuadorian government in 1998 from all erate with the Frente to help the Ecuadorians affected by the oil
liability. In reality, the release applied only to the Republic of contamination tell their stories and when possible bring them
Ecuador and contains language explicitly “carving out” private to the United States to speak for themselves before Chevron
legal claims against the company from its terms.163 executives, shareholders, and the concerned public.
Amazon Watch works to raise public awareness of the
environmental tragedy in Ecuador and to pressure Chevron to
What Communities Are Doing do the right thing—for its shareholders, for the communities
Although they were caught off guard in 1964, the inhabit- in Ecuador, and for its own reputation—by cleaning up the
ants of the Oriente have organized and are fighting to see Chev- damage for which it is responsible, and compensating affected
ron bear responsibility for cleaning up the contamination that it communities for the needless deaths they have suffered.
left in their backyards. Under the banner of the Frente de Defensa Chevron has engaged in repeated attempts to subvert the
de la Amazonía (Amazon Defense Coalition), the Ecuadorian judicial process, ranging from the use of deceptive sampling
victims of Chevron’s toxic mess have filed a landmark class-ac- techniques in scientific studies of the contamination167 to
tion lawsuit against the company. The lawsuit, first filed in 1993 lobbying efforts in Washington to tie the renewal of Ecuador’s
in New York, continues today against Chevron in a courtroom trade privileges to its dismissal of the case.168 We have success-
in the northern Ecuadorian oil town of Lago Agrio.164 fully applied a combination of shareholder activism, media
A milestone was reached in April 2008, when a court-ap- pressure, and direct action to expose these efforts and keep the
pointed independent expert reviewed all of the evidence in the heat on Chevron’s increasingly desperate management.

Mitch Anderson

A colono girl stands with an oil barrel abandoned by Chevron-Texaco in her rain forest home.

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 31

 CHEVRON IN IRAQ

“Iraq possesses huge reserves of oil and gas—reserves I’d love

Chevron to have access to.”
—Kenneth T. Derr, CEO of Chevron, 1998171

“I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowl-

edge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil.”
—Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve Chairman, 2007172

“Of course it’s about oil, we can’t really deny that.”

—General John Abizaid, retired head of U.S.
Central Command and Military Operations in Iraq,
speaking about the Iraq War, 2007173

Gulf Oil (today Chevron) entered Iraq following World

War I as part of a consortium of U.S. and European companies
that maintained control of Iraq’s oil under the concessionary
system until 1973, when Iraq nationalized its oil and kicked the
corporations out. U.S. oil companies renewed relations with One invasion and six years of occupation later, Chevron
Iraq in 1984, when President Reagan re-opened full diplomatic is reportedly in negotiations for two Iraqi oil fields, the giant
relations with President Hussein. Majnoon field with reserves of at least 12 billion barrels and
Chevron began signing marketing contracts with Saddam the Nahr bin Umar field, with reserves of 6.6 billion barrels.177
Hussein’s Iraq as early as 1989, and continued to market Iraqi Details have not been released, but these appear to be service
oil and refine it at its U.S. refineries through 1991, when sanc- contracts negotiated with the expectation that they are the first
tions were imposed.174 In 1996, the UN Oil-for-Food program step towards production contracts, and Chevron’s best “foot in
permitted Hussein to sell some oil for the purchase of humani- the door” until passage of the Iraq Oil Law.
tarian goods. In 1997, Chevron renewed its marketing of Iraqi
oil under the program. It has continued to market Iraqi oil and Pre-Invasion Planning
refine that oil at its various U.S. refineries without interruption
in every year since, including 2009.175 Ten days into Bush’s first term, representatives of the na-
In 2007, Chevron paid $30 million to settle charges tion’s largest oil and energy companies, including Chevron,
brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that came together as the Cheney Energy Task Force.178 A top-secret
it had paid illegal kickbacks to the Hussein regime to win its National Security Council memo directed staff to cooperate
Iraqi marketing contracts, after it was revealed that Hussein had fully as the Task Force considered “melding” “the review of
established a worldwide network of oil companies and countries operational policies towards rogue states” such as Iraq with
that secretly helped Iraq generate about $11 billion in illegal “actions regarding the capture of new and existing oil and gas
income from oil sales.176 fields.”179 The Task Force reviewed a series of lists and maps
outlining Iraq’s entire oil productive capacity.180 Two lists
entitled “Foreign Suitors for Iraqi Oilfield Contracts” listed
Winning Iraq’s Oil Prize more than 60 companies—none American—with contracts in
Marketing contracts are good, but production contracts are various stages of discussion. Were Hussein to remain in power
much better. It’s the difference between selling someone else’s and the sanctions removed, Iraq’s oil bonanza would go to those
oil, and controlling production at the source. Since the 2000 foreign companies, while the U.S. would be completely shut
election of George W. Bush, Chevron and other companies out.
have worked to see that a newly created Iraqi government passes At this same time, planning for the military invasion of
the Iraq Oil (or Hydrocarbons) Law, which would transform Iraq was well under way. As Paul O’Neill, Bush’s Treasury Sec-
Iraq from a nationalized oil system—all but closed to U.S. retary wrote, “already by February [2001], the talk was mostly
oil companies—to a largely privatized model open to U.S. oil about logistics. Not the why [to invade Iraq], but the how and
company access and control. how quickly.”181

32 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

 The Wall Street Journal reports that representatives from two-year contracts which pay a fixed cash amount, and the
Chevron, among other companies, met with Cheney’s staff in model most often used in the Middle East. While the oil com-
January 2003 to discuss plans for Iraq’s postwar industry.182 panies, including Chevron, have participated in bidding rounds
Following the March 2003 invasion, in October Chevron vice for such contracts (with the promise that they would lead to
president Norm Szydlowski became the liaison between the PSAs), the companies have refused to sign them, likely under
U.S. government’s occupation government of Iraq and the Iraqi the expectation that they will succeed in getting the Oil Law
Oil Ministry.183 passed or that the Iraqi government will eventually sign PSAs
Chevron and its oil company allies laid out their own plans on its own, circumventing the parliament. The pressure appears
for Iraq’s oil through the International Tax and Investment to be working. In early 2009, al-Shahristani said that as much
Centre (ITIC). Chevron is an original sponsor of the ITIC and as 90% of Iraq’s oil fields may be opened to foreign oil compa-
has held a seat on its Executive Committee for the last 10 years. nies using PSAs without passage of the Oil Law.189
Chevron was among six companies to fund and participate in
the ITIC’s Iraq project, launched in the summer of 2003.184 In
2004, the ITIC released “Petroleum and Iraq’s Future: Fiscal
What Chevron Says
Options and Challenges,” which makes ITIC’s case for opening In 2003, a confident Peter J. Robertson, Vice Chair-
Iraq’s oil industry to foreign oil companies, recommending man of ChevronTexaco, said, “Although the final decision
all-but full privatization and adoption of Production Sharing for inviting foreign investment ultimately rests with a
Agreements (PSAs), the industry’s favorite contract model.185 representative Iraqi government, I believe in due course
the invitation will come.”190
In a November 2008 letter to President-Elect Obama,
Post-Invasion Action
Chevron recommended a new “Strategic Energy Partnership”
Since June 2004, when the new Iraqi government took as “the Iraqi government opens its energy resources for foreign
office, the Bush administration and U.S. oil companies have investment, the U.S. government should highlight the strong
pushed the Iraqis to pass the Iraq Oil Law and transition Iraq value proposition of U.S. company investment.”191
from a nationalized to an all-but-privatized oil system, adopting If and when U.S. oil companies get to work in Iraq they
PSAs. Dan Witt of the ITIC has stated matter-of-factly that the will require protection—most likely that of the U.S. military.
ITIC helped draft the Law.186 A confidential intelligence report on the Iraq Oil Law prepared
Chevron has done its own Iraq lobbying. It was among for U.S. officials and leaked to ABC News concluded that if
the corporate sponsors of the Iraq Procurement 2004—Meet “major foreign oil companies“ were going to go to work in
the Buyers conference at which Iraqi ministers met with U.S. Iraq, they would need to be “heavily underwritten by the U.S.
and other corporations, to “further their business relations with government.”192
the rest of the world.” Chevron launched its Iraq Technical As-
sistance Program in 2004, sponsoring ìmore than a 1000 Iraqi
professionals to attend training courses, seminars, and confer-
The Opposition
ences . . . to help Iraqis in the task of revitalizing their energy Iraq’s oil workers’ unions, women’s organizations, academ-
industry.”187 ics, and parliamentarians have joined forces to raise awareness
of and opposition to the Oil Law and to call for a halt to the
pressure from the U.S. government and foreign oil companies
The Iraq Oil Law
calling for its passage. Iraq’s five trade union federations released
The Iraq Oil Law as currently drafted would give the Iraq a statement rejecting “the handing of control over oil to foreign
National Oil Company control only of currently producing companies, which would undermine the sovereignty of the state
oil fields. All other fields, including new discoveries, would be and the dignity of the Iraqi people.” Iraqis opposed to the Oil
opened to private companies using PSAs—potentially ceding Law have teamed up with activists in countries perpetrating the
almost 90% of Iraq’s oil to foreign control at contract terms of war and home to the oil corporations, and a global resistance
up to 35 years. Foreign companies would not have to invest campaign has been launched by organizations such as Iraq
in the Iraqi economy, partner with Iraqi companies, hire Iraqi Veterans Against the War, Oil Change International, United
workers, or share new technologies. All the oil produced from for Peace and Justice, the Institute for Policy Studies, U.S.
Iraq’s fields could be exported. The companies would also have Labor Against the War, London’s Platform, Hands Off Iraqi Oil
control over production decisions on their fields—potentially Coalition, and others.
jeopardizing Iraq’s OPEC membership.188 In California, on the fourth anniversary of the war,
In February 2007, the Iraqi cabinet signed off on the Oil protestors blockaded Chevron’s world headquarters by locking
Law. However, the parliament, representing an Iraqi public op- themselves to oil barrels spray-painted with the words “Stop the
posed to foreign control, has steadfastly refused to pass the Law. Iraq Oil Theft Law.”
Short of the Law’s passage, Iraqi Oil Minister al-Shahristani has
offered foreign companies technical service contracts: typically

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 33

 CHEVRON IN KAZAKHSTAN
By Crude Accountability

Chevron was the first major foreign oil company to

Linda Price King

secure operations in Kazakhstan in 1993 and has since become
the country’s largest private oil producer. In 2008 approximate-
ly 10% of Chevron’s worldwide net oil-equivalent production
was in Kazakhstan, with a daily average of 629,000 barrels of
crude oil and natural gas liquids and 1.3 billion cubic feet of
natural gas. These sizeable production figures are the result of
Chevron’s investments at the Tengiz and Karachaganak fields.
Chevron has a 50% interest in Tengizchevroil (TCO), which
operates the Tengiz Field, the world’s deepest super-giant oil
field, and a 20% interest in the Karachaganak Field, one of the
world’s largest oil and gas condensate fields. Chevron has a 15%
interest in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium pipeline, which
exports crude oil from these two fields to ports on Russia’s
Black Sea coast.

Flaring at the Karachaganak Oil and Gas Condensate Field in

Behind the Numbers Kazakhstan.

Chevron’s operations have been mired in gross public

health, environmental, human rights, and labor violations. At total197). And as a result of the damaging pollution of sulfur
both the Tengiz and Karachaganak fields, the local communities and other toxins, the government of Kazakhstan mandated that
have long been denied basic access to information on field oper- TengizChevroil relocate two affected villages.198 While reloca-
ations and environmental impacts. In both cases, the surround- tion was necessary, the manner in which these relocations were
ing populations began to suffer greatly from an unprecedented undertaken by TengizChevroil was fraught with human rights
variety of illnesses upon development of the fields, including abuses and should not serve as a model for future relocation.199
respiratory illnesses, blood illnesses, cardiovascular illnesses, and At Karachaganak, 2008 marked the sixth year of tireless
high levels of stillborn babies, all of which medical specialists campaigning by the village of Berezovka—located a mere five
have determined to be directly related to the oil industry.193 kilometers from the field—for compensation and relocation to
In both instances, it was eventually discovered that national a safe and environmentally clean location of its choosing. Upon
environmental legislation was being violated, waste was not the start of field operations, the health of this traditionally
being stored properly, pollution limits were being exceeded, and agricultural community of 1,300 began to decline precipitously,
the government of Kazakhstan levied fines on the projects. In with an independent 2003 study documenting nearly 45%
both cases, the environment has been altered to such a destruc- of the population suffering from chronic illnesses.200 Blood
tive extent that the need to relocate the affected populations has samples taken by an independent laboratory in 2004 indicated
become undeniable. that the villagers were suffering from exposure to hydrogen
At Tengiz, the high sulfur content of the oil extracted and sulfide and other toxins associated with petroleum extraction
stored at the field has caused significant damage to the environ- and refining.201
ment and the health of field workers and nearby residents.194 Over the next several years, community and government
Tengizchevroil maintains that the open air storage of sulfur air monitoring programs established an alarming record of
is insignificant in terms of environmental or human health toxins in the vicinity of the field. Community monitoring
threats,195 but history has not born the same conclusion. In registered over 25 toxic substances in the air, including hydro-
2007, a regional court fined TengizChevroil approximately gen sulfide, methylene chloride, carbon disulfide, toluene, and
USD 306.4 million for improperly extracting sulfur from acrylonitrile.202 In 2005 Karachaganak’s regional environmental
oil and storing more than 2.8 million tons of sulfur without authority denied the consortium, Karachaganak Petroleum Op-
government permission from 2003-2006.196 (Local environ- erating B.V. (KPO), its operating license due to environmental
mentalists point out that while 2.8 million tons were found violations, including emitting 56 thousand tons of toxic waste
to be stored illegally, there were nine million tons stored in in the atmosphere in 2004, improper storage of toxic solid

34 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

 apartment and ill-prepared for city life.207 Though Berezovka
is the only home most have ever known and they are not eager
to leave their roots, the villagers have come to understand that
they must fight for the resettlement to which they are entitled
to ensure the health of future generations.
Riots broke out at Tengiz in 2006 when Kazakhstani and
Turkish workers fought over wage discrepancies, leading to
nearly 200 injured workers and reports of deaths.208

What Chevron Says

To date, Chevron has failed to take any responsibility for
the serious environmental and health damages caused by opera-
tions at the Karachaganak Field. Though eager to take credit for
the field’s healthy production and revenue figures, when faced
with questions regarding the unhealthy environment produced
by the field’s operations, Chevron is quick to point out that
waste on the field, and dumping toxic effluent into the water it is only one member of the KPO consortium, and is not the
table.203 Again in March 2008, a Kazakhstani court levied an- operator.209 The other consortium members claim that the
other USD $15 million for further environmental damages.204 government of Kazakhstan is responsible, and the government
According to Kazakhstani law, which stipulates a five- has indicated that the relocation of the village is the financial
kilometer Sanitary Protection Zone (SPZ), the villagers should responsibility of the consortium. Finally, the International Fi-
have been relocated upon the start of field operations. However, nance Corporation, which provided USD $150 million in loans
in 2003, KPO convinced the government to reduce the SPZ for field development, has thus far failed to take any responsi-
to three kilometers, claiming “superior technology” had been bility, despite recognizing that its own environmental monitor-
introduced at the field, effectively barring the Berezovka villag- ing standards for air pollution have been violated.210
ers from relocation.205 The SPZ was reduced without a state
environmental assessment, without notice to local residents,
without consideration for public opinion, and without public The Local Community
participation in the decision-making process—in violation of The Berezovka Initiative Group and its partners, the US-
Kazakhstani law and the Aarhus Convention on access to infor- based environmental justice organization Crude Accountability
mation. After three years of public protest, Kazakhstan’s Public and the Kazakhstani Ecological Society “Green Salvation,” are
Prosecutor found the 2003 decision to reduce the SPZ to be challenging Chevron and its partners in KPO, the International
illegal, and the five-kilometer SPZ was reinstated in 2006.206 Finance Corporation, and the local and national government of
However, neither KPO nor the government has made repara- Kazakhstan, all of whom have repeatedly turned the other way
tions to the villagers for the years of violations to their rights or as the human rights of the villagers have been violated. Learn-
has made efforts to relocate the village. ing from the haphazard relocation of the villages near Tengiz
The village of Tungush, which had been located three kilo- and the village of Tungush, the citizens of Berezovka are com-
meters from the Karachaganak Field, was hastily and carelessly mitted to attaining compensation and relocation under their
relocated in 2003, leaving the villagers holed up in a high-rise own terms.

“Six years have passed since Berezovka’s residents began to fight for their rights.
Unfortunately, nothing has changed. Every day, people experience Karachaganak’s
“toxic breath” the authorities pretend that nothing is happening, and the
consortium is concerned only for its profits. When you can ignore the laws of the
country and international conventions, covering up your actions through “special”
relations with the leadership of Kazakhstan – why not do so!”
—Sergey Solyanik, Deputy Chair of the Ecological Society “Green Salvation,” Almaty, Kazakhstan

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 35

 CHEVRON IN NIGERIA
By Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria and Justice in Nigeria Now

Devastation
Credit

Oil revenues have brought little benefit

to the communities of the Niger Delta, many
of which lack access to clean drinking water
and electricity. Limited access to education
and healthcare continues to be a problem for
Delta residents. After more than 50 years of oil
production, almost $300 billion in oil revenues
has flowed directly into the federal coffers.218
However, per capita income in 2007 stood at
$294 per year,219 and for the majority of Nige-
rians, living standards are no better now than
at independence in 1960. Negative economic
effects of resource production are compounded
by harmful environmental consequences of oil
and gas production in the Niger Delta.
The Niger Delta hosts one of the largest
Nigeria is an important part of Chevron’s overall concentrations of biodiversity in the world, in-
business portfolio and remains one of Chevron’s largest explora- cluding one of the largest mangrove forest ecosystems in Africa.
tion and production operations.212 Chevron’s operations in This delicate habitat and the mainly subsistence farming and
Nigeria include exploration, production, blending, manufactur- fishing that comprise the majority of the economy of the Delta
ing, and marketing.213 have been devastated by Chevron and other oil companies’
Chevron began oil production in Nigeria’s Niger Delta in operations in the region.220 Effects include land degradation, air
1963, and they currently hold a 40% interest in 13 onshore pollution, biodiversity depletion, flooding and coastal erosion,
and near off-shore concessions in the Niger Delta, along with noise and light pollution, health problems, and poor agricul-
differing interests in several deepwater blocks.214 The Delta tural productivity.221
provides the vast majority of Chevron’s Nigeria production: in Oil spills occur regularly in the Delta, and other hazardous
2008 Chevron’s total daily production from Nigeria averaged wastes are dumped in waterways and farmlands, thus jeopardiz-
376,000 barrels of crude oil, 181 million cubic feet of natural ing the health of the environment and peoples.222 Additionally,
gas and 16,000 barrels of LPG. Of this total amount, the Niger Chevron has dredged many of the creeks for their production,
Delta fields produced daily average amounts of 332,000 barrels breeching the earthen walls that naturally keep out the salt
of crude oil, 154 million cubic feet of natural gas and 6,000 water from the creeks. As a result, many of the creeks where
barrels of LPG.215 Chevron operates are now brackish, which has lead to a mass
Chevron, like all foreign oil companies operating in Ni- die-off of freshwater fish, devastating the fishing economy.223
geria, operates as a joint venture with the state-owned Nige- Nigeria is also host to the world’s largest concentration of
rian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), who has a 60 gas flares, and this toxic practice, now illegal in Nigeria, pro-
percent stake in all oil revenues.216 duces more carbon dioxide than all other activities in the whole
Chevron’s production fields are mainly clustered around Es- of sub-Saharan Africa.224 These gas flares continue unabated,
cravos, Eastern Operations, and Funiwa, all located at the base of and rather than re-inject or harness the gas for productive uses,
the Delta, where the fresh water creeks meet the Gulf of Guinea. Chevron continues with this wasteful, toxic practice, leading
Communities located close to Chevron’s facilities include several to widespread negative health impacts among the people of
communities in Ilajeland in Ondo state. Those close to Escravos the Niger Delta, where villagers suffer from asthma and other
in Delta State include Ugborodo and Gbaramatu communities respiratory illnesses and cancers.225
and Aja-Omaetan in Warri, North of Delta State, among others. Exacerbating the environmental harm is the continued
Several different ethnic groups reside in these communities, economic marginalization of Delta communities. Although
including the Ilaje, the Itsekiri, and the Ijaw.217 more oil revenues are now flowing from the federal govern-

36 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

ment to the Delta region, under a new “derivation formula” Chevron—resulting in the death of two men and injury and
that requires at least 13% (up from 6%) of the oil revenue to be torture of others. Though a U.S jury found Chevron not liable
returned to the states where it is produced, local people in the for the military’s actions, the company did not deny paying the
Delta continue see little if any benefit from their community’s soldiers, transporting them, and directing them the day of the
oil resources.226 attacks. The plaintiffs in the case have announced they will ap-
Along with economic and environmental harms, Chev- peal the decision.232
ron and other energy companies operating in the Delta have The 1998 incident at Parabe is but one example of Chev-
been complicit with and benefited from human rights viola- ron utilizing the notoriously brutal Nigerian security forces,
tions committed by security forces against local communities now called the Joint Task Force (JTF), to suppress opposition to
protesting effects of extractive activities.227 Chevron continues its activities in the Delta. As recent as November 2008 Chevron
to employ and pay called in the JTF again
Natalie Mottley

the notoriously brutal to violently suppress a

Nigerian military to peaceful protest in the
provide it with security community of Ugboro-
services. The military do, outside the city of
are known to violently Warri near its Escravos
repress peaceful protest terminal.233 The com-
by villagers from the munity members were
Delta communities.228 protesting a lack of jobs
and an ongoing request
for Chevron to honour a
What The People Memorandum of Under-
Want standing (MOU) that the
The environment community signed with
literally is the life of the the company in 2002 re-
people in the com- garding the allocation of
munities decimated a certain number of jobs
by oil exploration and San Francisco, California, October 27, 2008. for local residents.234
exploitation. With a Mr. Isaac Botosan,
massively polluted environment, life in the communities where the vice chairman of Ugborodo Community Trust spoke about
Chevron is present has become precarious. Local communities why they protested and what happened:
seek an audit of the environment effects of oil production and To our greatest shock our youths, women, and children met
remediation of polluted areas and are requesting compensation with gunfire from [Chevron Nigeria Limited] CNL security per-
for their polluted lands and creeks, some mitigation for the sonnel who started shooting at the sight of the community’s peaceful
damage, and the development of basic infrastructure and jobs. demonstrator’s boat… all we want are jobs for our youths and
Key to creating a healthier environment is the demand to stop contracts for the able community people.”235
gas flaring. Additionally, communities want to have a serious
say in how resources located on their lands are exploited—by
What Chevron Says
whom and on what terms.
The environmental and economic harms caused by oil Chevron has yet to take responsibility for its role in using
companies in the Delta and a lack of adequate redress led to the brutal JTF to suppress peaceful protest. During the Bowoto
numerous peaceful protest directed at Chevron and other oil v Chevron trial, Chevron’s attorneys argued that its use of the
companies from the 1990’s229 into the present day (Escravos Nigeria security services was a reasonable response to the peace-
2005, Ugborodu 2009). Local discontent and protest continue ful protest at Parabe.236 However, according to the U.S. State
in the Delta, and Chevron’s failure to address adequately local Department, “[t]he JTF reportedly used excessive force and
demands, along with domestic internal governance challenges, engaged…in gun battles, which occasionally resulted in civilian
means that protests and opposition to Chevron’s presence will casualties and worsened security. Credible reports indicate the
likely continue.230 JTF’s participation in violent clashes resulted in the destruction
In 2008 Chevron was taken to U.S. Federal court in of communities.”237
San Francisco for its role in collaborating with the Nigerian Regarding continued toxic gas flaring; a Chevron official
military in 1998 to quell a peaceful, unarmed protest at their states that the company is taking a “phased approach to gas
offshore Parabe Oil Platform.231 The protest was violently sup- flares stoppage.”238
pressed by Nigerian security forces—paid and transported by

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 37

 CHEVRON IN THE PHILIPPINES
By Filipino-American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity (FACES)
Camela Nitollama

Christine Cordero
LEFT: In the heart of Manila, Pandacan residents live side-by-side with a massive depot and fueling stations. RIGHT: Pandacan Depot
on the banks of the Pasig River.

Chevron owns an oil terminal in Pandacan, an Close Proximity to Danger

urban district in Manila. The massive Pandacan oil depot sits
Chito Adofina, a community activist, says the depot is
on over 81 acres of land and is owned by Chevron Philippines
“potentially the biggest disaster waiting to happen in the pet-
Inc. (formerly Caltex Philippines Inc.), Petron Corp., and
rochemical industry.” More than 84,000 people, the majority
Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. Since 2004, Chevron and its
of whom are low income, live in the surrounding area. Daycare
partners have operated in a joint venture called the Pandacan
centers, churches, historic sites, and businesses operate in the
Depot Services Inc. (PDSI).
district. Over 25,000 students attend Polytechnic University
The Pandacan oil depot was constructed in 1910. Texaco
of the Philippines (PUP), located across from the depot on the
started working in the Philippines in 1917, shortly after the
banks of the Pasig River. Malacanang Palace, the official resi-
U.S. claimed the Philippines as a territory. In 1936 a joint
dence of the president, is just two kilometers away.239 Officials
venture between The Texas Co. and Chevron’s predecessor,
warn that an accident or terrorist attack could be disastrous for
Standard Oil Co. of California, created Caltex. The U.S. Army
Pandacan and the 10.9 million residents of Metro Manila. Be-
took control of the depot in 1941, burned the stored petro-
cause the depots sit on the banks of the Pasig River, it is feared a
leum, which set the bordering Pasig River ablaze for several
conflagration could spread to other parts of the city.240
weeks, and destroyed the terminal. At the conclusion of WWII,
Catastrophic spills, leakages, and explosions have sickened
and despite the considerable population increase of Pandacan,
the community. In 2001 dozens of students at the neighbor-
Caltex and its partners reconstructed the depot and resumed
ing PUP campus suffered headaches and vomiting during a
operations.
gas leak.241 In early 2006 40,000 liters of oil leaked from the
In 1947, Caltex converted its Pandacan warehouse into the
depot.242 In 2008 a defective tanker carrying 2,000 liters of
country’s first distribution terminal. In 1954, Caltex opened the
gasoline and 14,000 liters of diesel caused a deadly explosion
Batangas Refinery, the first petroleum refinery in the Philip-
near the depot exit gate, alarming officials and residents.243
pines. The Batangas refinery connects to Pandacan by a 71-mile
Chevron has not implemented a comprehensive warning system
underground pipeline system. By 1994, Chevron had the most
to alert residents of danger.
depots and largest retail network in the country and a total of
25 terminals and depots. In 1999 Chevron acquired a 45%
interest in the offshore Malampaya DeepWater Natural Gas Chronic Health Risks
Project, operated by Shell Philippines. The development is the
Pandacan residents suffer from long-term exposure and
single largest foreign investment in the Philippines.
illnesses associated with the depot operations. Lab results from

38 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

2003 air monitoring samples found alarming levels of ben- In March 2009, members of the Manila City Council
zene, a known carcinogen, in the air.244 A 2005 study reported wrote an ordinance that, if passed, could allow the oil depot’s
abnormal levels of lead in urine samples of Pandacan residents continued stay. The proposed ordinance was written without
and diagnosed lower rates of median neuropathy at increased consultation of residents. Community groups including AESJ
distances from the depot.245 Chevron has not implemented have filed a complaint. 251 Chevron fails to meet existing legisla-
regular air monitoring to detect hazardous chemicals. tion or to address the serious concerns of residents for their
safety and survival.
Circumventing the Law
What Chevron Says
In response to the dangers posed by the depot, on De-
cember 28, 2001, the City of Manila passed Ordinance 8027, Mark Quebral, Chevron Philippine Inc.’s Manager for
reclassifying the area from industrial to commercial and man- Policy, Government, and Foreign Affairs, calls Pandacan the
dating closure of the depot.246 The ordinance was enacted after “energy lifeline” of Manila and the country. In response to
the 9/11 attacks in the United States.247 However, rather than letters of concern sent by FACES, Randy Johnson, Country
pursue outright removal of the depot, the Manila City Gov- Chairman of the Philippines, wrote: “At Chevron, it is a core
ernment and DOE entered a memorandum of understanding belief that our long-term success is largely dependent on the
with the oil companies, agreeing to a minimal “scaling down of overall well-being of the communities where we operate...Chev-
operations.”248 Chevron and its partners filed petitions seeking ron Philippines, Inc. places the highest importance to the safety,
injunctions to suspend the ordinance. Rather than construct a security, and environmental aspects in our business operations.
true buffer zone, the oil companies constructed an inadequate The Pandacan Terminal has operated more than 80 years safely
green zone or “linear park” a few meters wide and encircling and without significant incident...Adequate internal security
the depot, through which residents walk and children play. Fol- measures are well in place at the Pandacan Terminal.”252
lowing negotiations with government officials, on January 12,
2004 Chevron and its partners were issued an Environmental
Compliance Certificate.249
What Community Groups Want
Social Justice Society (SJS) and other proponents filed a For years, community members have demanded relocation
case before the Supreme Court, seeking enforcement of the of the depot. “We ask that Chevron and the other oil compa-
ordinance. In March 2007, the SC upheld the ordinance and nies implement the Supreme Court decision without delay,
ordered closure of the depot within six months. “The objective and take away the constant shadow of a holocaust,” says Sixto
of the ordinance is to protect the residents of Manila from the Carlos, community activist. Community members advocate for
catastrophic devastation that will surely occur in case of a ter- a speedy but also thoughtful relocation and do not want simply
rorist attack on the Pandacan terminals,” the SC said. construction of “another Pandacan” that endangers another
On February 13, 2008, the SC upheld its decision, reject- community.
ing the motion for reconsideration filed by the oil companies. Residents and stakeholders ask to be included in an in-
Chevron and its partners were given 90 days to submit a com- formed decision-making process. Chevron and its partners must
prehensive relocation plan. “Essentially, the oil companies are include health studies and proper environmental remediation,
fighting for their right to property. They allege that they stand ensuring that all toxic contamination of soil, water, land, and
to lose billions of pesos if forced to relocate. However, based permanent structures are cleaned up to standards appropriate
on the hierarchy of constitutionally protected rights, the right for commercial use. A relocation plan must ensure economic
to life enjoys precedence over the right to property,” said the redevelopment that benefits residents, brings alternative liveli-
SC decision. “No reason exists why such a protective measure hood jobs and affordable housing to the site, and protects the
should be delayed.”250 environment.

“We ask that Chevron along with the other oil companies implement the Supreme
Court decision without delay, and take away for the people of Pandacan the
constant shadow of a holocaust.”
—Sixto Carlos, community activist with Advocates for Environment and Social Justice

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 39

 CITY RESOLUTIONS/DIVESTMENT CAMPAIGNS AGAINST
CHEVRON

Berkeley Boycotts Chevron: On January 29, 2008, the Berkeley City Council adopted a resolution mandating that the
city “cease all purchases from Chevron” as a result of the corporation’s record of ecological destruction and involvement in human
rights abuses in Angola, Burma, Ecuador, Nigeria, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Berkeley Commissioner Diana Bohn, said “The
City of Berkeley stood up today and sent a clear message to Chevron: your corporate recklessness will not be tolerated.”253

San Francisco Condemns Chevron: On June 2, 2008, the city and county of San Francisco passed a resolution which
“condemned Chevron Corporation for a systematic pattern of ethically questionable investments, complicity in human rights
abuses, and environmental devastation in countries and communities in which it operates.” “We expect there to be a growing num-
ber of similar resolutions adopted by cities across the U.S.,” said Mitch Anderson of Amazon Watch, one of more than a dozen
organizations backing the measure. “The fact that this resolution has now been passed in Chevron’s own backyard, shows how
Chevron CEO David O’Reilly has brought the company to the brink of losing its social license to operate.”254

Amnesty International Targets Chevron: Chevron is an Amnesty International “Target Company.” Citing Chev-
ron’s legacy of “toxic pollution with widespread human rights impacts,” including “turn[ing] its back on Amazon communities
poisoned by oil contamination left by their subsidiary, Texaco,” and “struggling with ongoing controversies in Nigeria, Angola,
and Myanmar... clear examples of the gravity of corporate human rights abuses,” Amnesty has filed several Chevron shareholder
resolutions and through its SHARE POWER campaign, has called on its millions of members to pressure universities and pension/
investment funds to support its Chevron shareholder resolutions and establish investor responsibility committees and proxy voting
guidelines.

Jeff Paterson / Courage to Resist

40 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

 CHEVRON’S OBLIGATIONS

Each section of this report detailing Chevron’s actions from Alaska to the Philippines ends with specific demands
from the affected communities and their allies. From these arise several key principal obligations required of Chevron.

Clean Up Your Mess

Chevron has left a legacy of environmental and community destruction. A persistent theme permeates this report: Chevron’s
refusal to use its vast resources to invest in the safest, most sophisticated, and superior methods of production has destroyed lives,
livelihoods, and the world’s environment. There is much that Chevron can do to mitigate the damage it has caused by making the
necessary investments now to right these longstanding wrongs. Lawsuits, such as those in Ecuador, Alaska, Nigeria, Richmond, and
elsewhere, are only the beginning. Chevron can be a standard bearer, by cleaning up its mess before another court forces it to do so.

Clean Up Your Act

There is absolutely no reason why one of the most profitable corporations in world history should not invest its billions of dollars
in the safest, most sophisticated, newest, and cleanest technology available at all of its operations, regardless of where they are
located. Now is the time to make these investments.

Reject Alliances with Brutal Governments and Their Militaries

There are costs that are too great to pay for additional oil. The accounts of people from Burma, Nigeria, Chad, Angola, Iraq, and
elsewhere should leave no illusions as to the ultimate price born by local communities when Chevron chooses to align with and
avail itself to the world’s most brutal regimes.

Pay Your Fair Share

Invest in the communities within which Chevron operates by paying taxes and royalties commensurate with its operations. Spend
less on lobbying and more on investing in and supporting the financial needs of the nations and localities within which Chevron
works.

Offer Transparency In All Operations

Open the doors to Chevron’s refineries, gas stations, tax accounting, and payments to foreign governments and their militaries.
Delineate exactly how and where renewable energy investments are made. Let the sunlight in.

Be the Best Oil Company That Chevron Can Be

Rather than pursue token investments in questionable alternative energy programs, rather than destroy the environment further by
pushing forward into increasingly destructive modes of production, rather than invest in polluting coal and chemicals, use Chev-
ron’s wealth to turn its remaining oil operations into the standard bearer for the most humane, environmentally sane, and equitable
production in the world.

Chevron is right. The world will continue to use oil as it transitions to a sustainable green renewable energy economy. Whether
Chevron will be in business as we make the transition depends upon what sort of company it chooses to be and whether the public
is willing to support it.

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 41

 resources

Alternative Annual Report Earthjustice Mpalabanda

Coalition Website Oakland, CA Cabinda, Angola
www.TrueCostofChevron.com www.earthjustice.org/ [email protected]

Amazon Watch EarthRights International Oil Change International

San Francisco, CA Washington, DC Washington, DC
www.amazonwatch.org www.earthrights.org www.priceofoil.org

Antonia Juhasz Environmental Defense Protect Our Coast, Inc.

San Francisco, CA New York, NY Pascagoula, MS
www.TyrannofOil.org www.edf.org www.protectourcoast.org

Asian Pacific Environmental Environmental Rights Action - Rainforest Action Network

Network Friends of the Earth Nigeria San Francisco, CA
Oakland, CA Benin City, Nigeria www.ran.org
www.apen4ej.org/ www.eraction.org/
Richmond Progressive Alliance
Centre pour l’Environnement et Filipino-American Coalition for Richmond, CA
le Development Cameroun Environmental Solidarity www.richmondprogressive
Yaoundé, Cameroon San Francisco, CA alliance.net/
www.cedcameroun.org www.facessolidarity.org
Sierra Club Florida
Communities for a Better Global Exchange St. Petersburg, FL
Environment San Francisco, CA www.florida.sierraclub.org/
Oakland, CA www.globalexchange.org
www.cbecal.org Trustees for Alaska
Institute for Policy Studies Anchorage, AK
CorpWatch Sustainable Energy and Economy www.trustees.org/
San Francisco, CA Network
www.corpwatch.org Washington, DC U.S. Labor Against the War
www.ips-dc.org/SEEN Washington, DC
Crude Accountability www.uslaboragainstwar.org/
Alexandria, VA Iraq Veterans Against the War
www.crudeaccountability.org Philadelphia, PA West County Toxics Coalition
http://ivaw.org/ Richmond, CA
Direct Action to Stop the War www.westcountytoxicscoalition.
San Francisco, CA Justice In Nigeria Now org
http://bayareadirectaction. San Francisco, CA
wordpress.com/ www.justiceinnigerianow.org

42 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

 end notes
Due to space constraints, the print version of this report is not fully endnoted. The fully sourced version of this report is posted
at www.TrueCostofChevron.com. Endnotes below, in most cases, do not include weblinks, which can be found instead on the
online version of this report.

1 CampaignMoney.com, weblink in online report. 30 Matthew Yi, “Alternative Fuel Proposition Defeated,” 57 The brief may be viewed at: http://www.trustees.org/.
2 Center for Responsive Politics, www.opensecrets.org San Francisco Chronicle, November 8, 2006. 58 Anchorage Daily News, http://www.adn.com/front/
lobbying database. 31 Antonia Juhasz, The Tyranny of Oil: the World’s Most story/750610.html (April 9, 2009)
3 Andrew Revkin, “Industry Ignored its Scientists on Powerful Industry—And What We Must Do To Stop It 59 Geoff Colvin, “Chevron’s CEO: The Price of Oil,”
Climate,” New York Times, April 23, 2009. (HarperCollins, 2008), p. 216. Fortune, November 28, 2007.
4 Bob Burtman, “Hunting for the Smoking Gun,” 32 Ibid, p. 217.
Miami New Times, October 25, 2000. 33 David Baker, “Economists Weigh Prop. 87,” San 60 David Baker, “Underwater Resources,” San Francisco
5 Tom Chorneau, “Big Oil Lobbyists stall bills in Francisco Chronicle, October 15, 2006. Chronicle, August 3, 2006.
Legislature that industry opposes,” The San Francisco 34 Ronald White, “Lawsuit Over Gas Pricing Revived,” 61 Antonia Juhasz, The Tyranny of Oil, p. 321.
Chronicle, July 14, 2006. Los Angeles Times, April 4, 2009.
62 Matthew Mosk, “Industry Gushed Money After Rever-
6 Ibid. 35 Federal Trade Commission, Bureau of Economics, sal on Drilling,” Washington Post, July 27, 2008.
7 Dina Cappiello, “Government officials probed about “The Petroleum Industry: Mergers, Structural Change,
and Antitrust Enforcement,”“ August 2004. 63 Josiah Ryan, “Democrat Leader: Restoring Offshore
illicit sex, gifts,” Associated Press, September 10, 2008. Drilling Ban a ‘Top Priority’ for Next Year,” CNSNews.
8 Memorandum to Secretary Kempthorne, from Earl E. 36 Bob Burtman, “Running on Empty,” Miami New com, September 24, 2008.
Devaney, re: “OIG Investigation of MMS Employees,” Times, November 9, 2000.
64 Nick Snow, “House Democrats won’t try to restore
United States Department of Interior, Office of Inspec- 37 Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut attorney general, OCS moratoriums, majority leader says,” Oil & Gas
tor General, September 9, 2009. Testimony before the Antitrust Task Force of the Journal, November 21, 2008.
9 Ibid. House Committee on the Judiciary, May 16, 2007.
65 Ibid.
10 Center for Responsive Politics, Open Secrets Database 38 U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information
Administration, Refinery Tables. 66 Joe Carroll, “Rig Shortage Slows Chevron Bid to Tap
www.opensecrets.org. Offshore Fields,” Reuters, December 6, 2006.
11 Tom Donohue, “Undeniable Energy Facts,” Uscham- 39 NPN MarketFacts 2008, Highlights, weblink in online
report. 67 Debbie Boger, Deputy Legislative Director, Sierra
ber.com weekly, May 22, 2007. Club, Testimony before the Senate Committee on
12 Peter H. Stone, “Donohue’s Pro-Oil Pitch,” National 40 Tom Chorneau, “Big Oil Lobbyists Stall Bills in Energy and Natural Resources, April 19, 2005.
Journal, January 6, 2007. Legislature that Industry Opposes,” The San Francisco
Chronicle, July 14, 2006. 68 U.S. Department of the Interior, Mineral, Manage-
13 Richard S. Dunham, “Retired general is a strong ment Service, Gulf of Mexico Region, http://www.
advocate for offshore drilling, nuclear power,” Houston 41 Antonia Juhasz, The Tyranny of Oil, pp. 240-252. goms.mms.gov.
Chronicle, December 24, 2008. 42 Senator Arlen Specter, “Bipartisan Legislation Seeking 69 David Ivanovich and Kristen Hays, “Offshore drilling
14 “Transition Plan for Securing America’s Energy to Foster Competition and Reduce Oil and Gas Prices safer, but small spills routine,”Houston Chronicle, July
Future,” Remarks as prepared for delivery by General Receives Committee Approval,” press release, April 27, 28, 2008.
James L. Jones, Washington, D.C., November 17, 2006.
70 Sierra Club, “The Threat of Offshore Drilling:
2008. 43 intentionally left blank America’s Coasts in Peril,” May 24, 2006.
15 Laura Rozen, “Obama’s NSC takes power,” Foreign 44 Cora Daniels, “Fast Talk: Chevron’s Underground 71 Chevron Corporation, “Strengthening America’s
Policy Magazine’s The Cable, March 3, 2009. Researcher,” Fast Company, October 2007. Energy Pillar: Recommendations for President-Elect
16 “Transition Plan for Securing America’s Energy Fu- 45 Edward Iwata, “Chevron CEO Doesn’t See Oil Crisis Obama,” November 10, 2008.
ture,” General James L. Jones. Looming,” USA Today, June 13, 2006. 72 Gary P. Laquette, President, Chevron North America
17 Richard S. Dunham, “Retired general is a strong 46 American Lung Association, weblink in online report. Exploration and Production Company, Statement Pre-
advocate for offshore drilling, nuclear power,” Houston 47 “Groups Ask EPA to Close Texas Loopholes,” Chemical pared for the House Committee on Natural Resources,
Chronicle, December 24, 2008. Week, March 26, 2003. “Industry Perspectives on the Outer Continental
18 Brian Zabcik, “Chevron slow to announce hire of Shelf,” February 25, 2009.
48 Mike Sheridan, “CPChem to pay 1.8m fine in Texas
controversial pentagon GC,” Law.com, April 11, 2008. explosions that killed3,” Chemical News & Intel- 73 Fisheries Economics of the United States, NOAA’s
19 Andrew Ross, “Report rips ex-Defense counsel, now ligence, October 1, 2004. Fisheries Service 2006.
at Chevron,” San Francisco Chronicle, December 23, 49 John Carey, “The Biofuel Bubble,” Business Week, 74 See www.dep.state.fl.us/beaches/publications/pdf/
2008. April 27, 2009l phase2.pdf
20 William Branigin, “Obama Open to Probe, Prosecu- 50 Chevron 2005 Supplement to the Annual Report, p. 75 Ibid.
tions of Top Officials Over Interrogations,” Washing- 18. 76 Ibid.
ton Post, April 21, 2009.
51 61 Fed. Reg. 66086, 66127-29 (Dec. 16, 1996), 77 Dept. of Interior, Minerals Management Service, 2006
21 Editorial, “The Torture Report,” The New York Times, amended by 62 Fed. Reg. 1680, 1681-82 (Jan. 13, OOC, Release #3486, “Updates Hurricanes Katrina
December 17, 2008. 1997). and Rita Damage.”
22 “Letter Criticizes Judicial Nominee,” Bloomberg News, 52 Final Environmental Assessment: Reissuance of a NP- 78 “Oil Drilling, the New ‘Clean’ Energy?” The Texas
July 11, 2006. DES General Permit for Oil and Gas Exploration, De- Observer, August 10, 2008.
23 Andrew Ross, “Report rips ex-Defense counsel, now at velopment and Production Facilities Located in State 79 See Department of Homeland Security, Daily Open-
Chevron.” and Federal Waters in Cook Inlet, Alaska, Prepared for Source Infrastructure Report, 29 December, 2006.
24 Andrew Ross, “Chevron lawyer faces Spanish probe,” U.S. EPA Region 10 by Tetra Tech (October 2006) at
3-29. 80 Mark Davis, Esq., PhD., Sr. Research Fellow, Director
The Bottom Line, SF Gate.com, March 30, 2009. of the Tulane University Institute on Water Resources
25 Ken Silverstein, “Meet the Revolvers,” Harper’s Maga- 53 Fact Sheet: U.S. EPA Plans to Reissue a NPDES Gen- Law and Policy.
zine, March 28, 2007. eral Permit for Oil and Gas Exploration, Development
and Production Facilities Located in State and Federal 81 “Offshore Drilling – It’s Back,” Zeke Grader and Glen
26 Center for Responsive Politics “Open Secret” database, Waters in Cook Inlet, Permit No. AKG-31-5000 Spain, Report of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisher-
http://www.opensecrets.org. (formerly AKG-28-5000) at 32-39. Weblink in online men’s Associations, weblink in online report.
27 Edmund Andrews, “Blowing the Whistle on Big Oil,” report. 82 Antonia Juhasz, The Tyranny of Oil, p. 297.
New York Times, December 3, 2006. 54 Id. at 33-34. 83 Daniel Whitten, “Salazar to rewrite Bush’s oil-shale
28 Kevin Yamamura, “California business groups ease 55 Letter from Faye W. Sullivan, Regulatory Affairs plan,” Houston Chronicle, February 25, 2009.
opposition to raising taxes,” Sacramento Bee, Jan 17, Coordinator for Unocal, to Sharmon Stambaugh, Sec- 84 Chevron Corporation, “Strengthening America’s
2009. tion Manager of Alaska Department of Environmental Energy Pillar.”
29 Richard Holober, “Reduce California’s budget Pain – Conservation Division of Water, October 7, 2004.
85 Chevron USA, Richmond, CA, Refinery Locator,
Institute an Oil Severance Fee,” Consumer Federation 56 Cook Inletkeeper, et al. v. U.S. EPA, et al., Ninth Refinery Reform Campaign, weblink in online report.
of California, January 22, 2009. Circuit Case No. 07-72420 (filed June 15, 2007).

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 43

86 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, TRI Explorer, tion (July 9, 1992), pages 2462-2553 of Ex. 1 to the 143 American Petroleum Institute, Primer on Oil and Gas
“Releases: Facility Report,” Chevron Richmond Refin- partial trial of Doe v. Unocal Corp., BC 237980 (Sup. Production, Chapter 12, 1962.
ery, weblink in online report. Ct. Cal., L.A. County) (admitted into evidence, Dec. 144 Internal Texaco memos released during the trial have,
87 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Sector Facility 11, 2003) [hereinafter PSC]. for example, revealed that Texaco destroyed records of
Indexing Project: Facility Level Statistics,” Chevron 118 See Deed of Assignment By and Between Total Myan- oil spills and considered lining its waste pits but ruled
USA Inc., Richmond Refinery. weblink in online mar Exploration & Production and Unocal Myanmar out the option as too expensive. Copies of these memos
report. Offshore Co. Ltd. (Jan. 28, 1993), Ex. 6(C) to the are available from Amazon Watch.
88 Scorecard.org. weblink in online report. partial trial of Doe v. Unocal Corp., BC 237980 (Sup. 145 Lifsher, Marc, Wall Street Journal, Oct. 30, 2003.
Ct. Cal., L.A. County) (admitted into evidence, Dec.
89 Liz Tascio, “Chevron to Settle Violations at Refinery 16, 2003).
with $330,000,” Contra Costa Times, January 14, 146 Cabrera, Richard, expert for the Court of Nueva Loja,
2004. 119 See Deed of Assignment By and Between Total Myan-
mar Exploration & Production, Unocal Myanmar Off- Ecuador. “Court Expert Summary Report,” March
90 Jane Kay, “Chevron Plant Hit with Fine,” San Fran- shore Co. Ltd., and PTTEP Int’l Ltd. (Jan. 29, 1995), 2008. p. 25. Weblink in online report.
cisco Chronicle, March 27, 2001. Ex. 4(C) to the partial trial of Doe v. Unocal Corp., BC 147 Kimerling, Judith, Amazon Crude. Natural Resources
91 “Chevron refinery fire in Jan. sparked by corroded 237980 (Sup. Ct. Cal., L.A. County) (admitted into Defense Council, 1989.
pipe,” Associated Press, April 20, 2007. evidence, Jan. 14, 2004) [hereinafter Deed of Assign-
ment]. 148 Aguinda v. ChevronTexaco trial record, and Chevron’s
92 “Chevron Continues to Probe into March Refinery public admissions (“Toxic Legacy,” Bloomberg Mar-
Fire,” Chevron press release, September 16, 1999. 120 Ibid. at. 1.2. kets, February 2009, p. 79).
93 “Chevron’s Big Bang,” Counterpunch.org, 1999. 121 See generally, EarthRights Int’l, Total Denial: A Report 149 “Order No. 29-A, Statewide Order Governing the
on the Yadana Pipeline Project in Burma (June 1996), Drilling for and Producing of Oil and Gas in the State
94 Gayle McLaughlin, “Richmond Must Insist that Chev- Total Denial Continues: Earth Rights Abuses Along the
ron Do Better,” Contra Costa Times, August 11, 2007. of Louisiana,” State of Louisiana Department of Con-
Yadana and Yetagun Pipelines in Burma (2d. ed. 2003), servation, Minerals Division, May 20, 1942. “Texas Oil
95 Contra Costa Health Services, “A Framework for Con- The Human Cost of Energy: Chevron’s Continuing and Gas Statewide Rulebook, Railroad Commission of
tra Costa County,” http://www.cchealth.org/groups/ Role in Financing Oppression and Profiting From Texas,” July 1, 1967.
chronic_disease/framework.php. Human Rights Abuses in Military-Ruled Burma
(Myanmar) (2008). 150 Texaco’s operating agreement with Ecuador required
96 Scorecard.org. “Environmental Release Report: Chev- it to ““employ modern and efficient machinery”“ and
ron Prods. Co. Pascagoula Refy., TRI Data Summary,” 122 See generally, EarthRights Int’l, The Human Cost of to ““avoid contamination of waters, airs, and lands.”“
weblink in online report. Energy. Texaco violated this agreement by using substandard
97 “Releases: Facility Report for 2007,” U.S. Environmen- 123 See EarthRights Int’l, The Human Cost of Energy. at technology and waste management practices.
tal Protection Agency, TRI Explorer,” weblink in online 20-21. 151 Cabrera, Richard, “Court Expert Summary Report.” p.
report. 124 Id. at 20, notes 46-49. 6.
98 Jackson County Mississippi Website. Aug 4, 2008. “Ad 125 Interview #006 (2008, defector from battalion 273), on 152 San Sebastian M., Armstrong B., Cordoba JA. and
Valoren Tax Exemptions Information Package,” April file with ERI. Stephens C., “Exposures and cancer incidence near oil
3, 2009. fields in the Amazon basin of Ecuador,” Occupational
126 Interview #043 (2005, Kanbauk), on file with ERI. & Environmental Medicine, 58(8):517-22 (2001).
99 Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
“Notice of Public Hearing, Mississippi Environmental 127 Interview #016 (2007, Law Ther), on file with ERI. 153 Cabrera, Richard, “Responses to the Plaintiffs’ Ques-
Quality Permit Board.” Feb 6, 2009. 128 IPIECA, “Human Rights and Ethics in the Oil and tions Concerning the Expert Report,” November 2008.
100 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, TRI Explorer, Gas Industry, 2008” at 21, weblink in online report w. Document on file with plaintiffs and Amazon Watch.
“Releases: Geography County Report,” for 2007, (IPIECA includes Chevron, Total, and PTTEP.) 154 Hurtig AK. and San Sebastian M., “Incidence of Child-
weblink in online report. 129 Total : Human Rights in Burma, http://burma.total. hood Leukemia and Oil Exploitation in the Amazon
101 Mississippi Cancer Registry. “Invasive Cancer Incidence com/en/contexte/p_1_1.htm; (The ILO has never Basin of Ecuador,” International Journal Of Epidemiol-
Rates in Jackson County, Mississippi: All Sites, 2003- claimed that there is no forced labor in the Yadana ogy; 31:1021-1027 (2002).
2006,” 2009. pipeline area, nor that the pipeline region is the only 155 San Sebastian M., Armstrong B. and Stephens C.,
area in Burma without forced labor.) “Outcomes of pregnancy among women living in
102 E-mail exchange with Antonia Juhasz, March 26, 2009.
130 Chevron: Myanmar, http://www.chevron.com/globalis- the proximity of oil fields in the Amazon basin of
103 Jackson County Board of Supervisors Website. “Role of sues/humanrights/myanmar/. Ecuador,” International Journal Of Occupational &
the Board Supervisor,” 2009. Environmental Health, 8(4):312-9 (2002).
131 http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.
104 E-mail exchange with Antonia Juhasz, March 26, 2009. html?id=00686d4c-24d9-417d-9dd1-714592491e7f. 156 Dematteis, Lou and Szymczak, Kayana, Crude Reflec-
105 NJDEP, Community Right to Know Annual Report 132 Dan Woynillowicz and Chris Severson-Baker, “Down tions. San Francisco: City Lights Books, 2008. p. 54.
for 2004 (published in 2007). Weblink in online to the Last Drop—the Athabasca River and Oil Sands– 157 Petroecuador began reinjecting some produced water in
report, pages 32, 70. Oil Sands Issue Paper No. 1,” The Pembina Institute, 1996.
106 Ibid, page 111. March, 2006. 158 Texaco claims to have spent $40 million, compared to
107 Alex Nussbaum, “Cold water aiding cleanup of the spill 133 Christopher Hatch and Matt Price, “Canada’s Toxic over $6 billion that court-appointed expert Richard
in the kill,” The Record (Bergen County, NJ), February Tar Sands–The Most Destructive Project on Earth,” Cabrera estimates as the cost of a true environmental
14, 2006, page A03. Environmental Defense Canada, February 2008. remediation (see Cabrera, “Court Expert Summary
134 EPA OIG Report, supra note 18, at Appendix D. See Report”).
108 “Environmental officials criticize response to spill,” The
Record (Bergen County, NJ), February 19, 2006, page also, U.S. EPA, Criteria Pollutants, http://www.epa. 159 Texaco’s target for Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons
A03. gov/air/oaqps/greenbk/o3co.html. (TPH) in soils was under 5,000 parts per million (see
135 CBC News North, “Dehcho, Chipewyan nations call Cabrera, “Court Expert Summary Report” p. 25, and
109 “DEP Settles Ground Water Claims with Chevron,
for oil sands moratorium,” January 31, 2007. Woodward-Clyde International, Inc., “Remedial Action
ConocoPhillips” (release), December 5, 2005.
Plan for the Former Petroecuador-Texpet Consortium,”
110 First Amended Complaint, filed on June 29, 2007 by 136 http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story. September 8, 1995). Ecuadorian law, by contrast, sets
the attorney general of New Jersey. Weblink in online html?id=00686d4c-24d9-417d-9dd1-714592491e7f. a standard of 1,000 ppm for TPH (Cabrera, “Court
report. 137 http://www.cbecal.org/pdf/Dirty%20oil%20bck- Expert Summary Report” p. 13), which is still higher
111 Jad Mouawad, “Oil Giants to Settle Water Suit,” New grnd%20CBE012209.pdf than that in some U.S. states.
York Times, May 8, 2008. 138 Friends of the Earth International, “Chad-Cameroon 160 Cabrera, Richard, “Court Expert Summary Report.”
112 Pace Law School, Environmental Clinic, weblink in Pipeline,” http://www.foei.org/en/publications/link/ Annex H.
online report. mining/26case.html. 161 Beltman, Douglas and Maest, Ann, “Texaco’s Misuse
113 Jenna R. Helf v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc., Case Number: 139 Ibid. of the TCLP Test in Ecuador,” February 2009 (on file
20061170, Judge Parrish, Supreme Court of Utah with plaintiffs and at http://www.chevrontoxico.com).
140 Ibid.
Ruling on appeal from the Third District, Salt Lake 162 Kolker, Carlyn. “Chevron Lawyers Indicted by Ecuador
County, February 13, 2009. 141 Statement of Mila Rosenthal, Director, Business and in Oil-Pit Cleanup Dispute.” Bloomberg, Sept. 13,
Human Rights Program, “Release of Contracting Out 2008.
114 USAID, “About Angola,” April 15, 2009. Weblink in of Human Rights: The Chad-Cameroon Pipeline,”
online report. Amnesty International, September 7, 2005. 163 “Contract for Implementing of Environmental Reme-
115 Daphne Eviator, “Africa’s Oil Tycoons,” The Nation, dial Work and Release from Obligations, Liability, and
142 Texaco violated Ecuador’s 1921 Ley de Yacimientos Claims,” Page 6, May 4, 2005 (on file with the Lago
April 12, 2004. (Mineral Deposits Law), a 1971 Hydrocarbons Law in court and with the plaintiffs).
116 Amnesty International Public Statement, “Angola: Hu- 1971 that required oil companies to “adopt all neces-
man rights organization banned,” August 4, 2006. sary measures to protect the flora, fauna, and natural 164 See legal complaint filed in Superior Court of Nueva
resources” and to “avoid contamination of water, air, Loja, Ecuador, May 7, 2003. At http://chevrontoxico.
117 See generally Production Sharing Contract for Ap- com/assets/docs/2003-ecuador-legal-complaint.pdf
and land;” 1972 Ley de Agua (Water Law); and 1976
praisal, Development and Production of Petroleum
Ley de Prevención y Control de Contaminación Ambi- 165 Cabrera, Richard, “Court Expert Summary Report.”
in the Moattama Area Between Myanma Oil & Gas
ental (Law of Prevention and Control of Environmen- March 24, 2008.
Enterprise and Total Myanmar Exploration & Produc-
tal Contamination).

44 Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report

166 Cabrera, Richard, “Responses to the Plaintiffs’ Ques- 193 “Kashagan oil field development, Kazakhstan: Prelimi- 225 See “Chevron’s Efforts in Flaring Reduction,” at www.
tions Concerning the Expert Report.” November 2008. nary NGO Fact Finding Mission Report,” September worldbank.org/html/fpd/ggfrforum06/roundtables/
Document on file with plaintiffs and Amazon Watch. 4/13, 2007. africagulfguinea/adejinishinn.ppt
167 Maest, Ann; Quarles, Mark, P.G.; Powers, William, 194 Ibid. 226 Douglas, Oronto, et. al., “Alienation and Militancy in
P.E., “How Chevron’s Sampling And Analysis Methods 195 “Rezultati nauchnykh issledovanii podtverdili, chto vli- the Niger Delta.” p. 2.
Minimize Evidence Of Contamination.” March 10, yanie otkritogo khraneniya tengizskoi sery na zdorove 227 See generally, Human Rights Watch, The Niger Delta:
2006. (on file with plaintiffs, and at http://www. lyuei neznachitelno – ‘Tengizchevroil’,’” Kazakhstan No Democratic Dividend, 2002; Douglas, Oronto, et.
chevrontoxico.com/) Segodnya, March 20, 2009. al., “Alienation and Militancy in the Niger Delta.” p. 5.
168 Isikoff, Michael, “A $16 Billion Problem.” Newsweek, 196 “Kazakhstan fines TengizChevroil USD 306.4 mln 228 See International Crisis Group, “Fuelling the Niger
July 26, 2008. for sulphur pollution,” The European Weekly: New Delta Crisis,” Africa Report N°118, 2006.
169 Chevron’s 10-Q SEC quarterly tax filings beginning in Europe, October 20, 2007. 229 Bassey Testimony, September 2008 at 7.
May 2008 contain misleading information on Ecaudor. 197 “Milliardy s zapakhom sery: Ekologi zasudili neftyano-
Weblink in online report. 230 Amnesty International “Nigeria: Ten years on:
go giganta,” Nomad, October 25, 2007. Injustice and Violence Haunt the Oil Delta” at 6
170 Document on file with plaintiffs, or at http://laws. 198 “Sarakamys poekhal. V Kazakhstane prodolzhaetsya (Nov. 2005); Environmental Rights Action, “Chevron
findlaw.com/2nd/017756.html otselenie zhitelei iz neftenosnykh raionov,” TsentrAziya Security Shoots Peaceful Protesters at Aruntan.”
171 Kenneth T. Derr, “Engagement—A Better Alternative” January 28, 2003. 231 See Bowoto v. Chevron, 312 F. Supp. 2d 1229 (N.D.
(speech to the Commonwealth Club of California, San 199 “Milliardy s zapakhom sery: Ekologi zasudili neftyano- Cal. 2004).
Francisco, November 5, 1998). go giganta,” Nomad, October 25, 2007. 232 EarthRights International, “Court Denies New Trial
172 Alan Greenspan, The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in 200 “Karachaganak Oil and Gas Field Threatens Health of in Human Rights Suit Against Chevron: Plaintiffs to
a New World (New York: Penguin, 2007), 463. Citizens: 2003 Village Health Survey Results,” Crude Appeal,” at www.earthrights.org/content/view/636/62/.
173 Gerry Shih and Susana Montes, “Roundtable Debates Accountability. 233 The Vanguard, “Militants kill 2 policemen, JTF shoot
Energy Issues,” Standard Daily, October 15, 2007. 201 http://www.crudeaccountability.org/en/index. protesters”, November 21, 2008.
174 Energy Information Administration, U.S. Depart- php?page=karachaganak. 234 Id.; See Environmental Rights Action, “Chevron
ment of Energy, Company Level Imports Historical, 202 “Karachaganak Oil and Gas Field Threatens Health of Security Shoots Peaceful Protesters at Aruntan.”
downloaded April 7, 2009. Weblink in online report. Citizens: The Scientific Data,” Crude Accountability. 235 Environmental Rights Action, “Chevron Security
175 Ibid. 203 Zlobina, Alla, “Environmental Dregs,” Uralsk Weekly, Shoots Peaceful Protesters.”
176 “Chevron Pays Fine in Oil-For-Food Case,” Associated April 7, 2005. 236 Bowoto v. Chevron, Case No: C 99-02506 SI, Tr. Vol.
Press, November 14, 2007. 204 “Kazakh court fines gas field over flaring,” Reuters, 4, 702:15-703:19, (N.D. Cal. 2008).
177 Beniot Faucon and Spencer Swartz, “Chevron, Total March 20, 2008. 237 U.S. Department of State 2008 Human Rights Report:
in Services Pact on Iraq Majnoon Field-Sources,” Dow 205 http://www.crudeaccountability.org/en/index. Nigeria Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and La-
Jones Newswires, August 8, 2007 and Alisa Martin, php?page=karachaganak. bor 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices,
“International oil companies negotiate development February 25, 2009
deals with Iraq,” Dallas Oil & Gas Examiner, March 206 Ibid.
27, 2009. 207 http://www.crudeaccountability.org/en/index. 238 Charles Adeniji, Chevron’s Efforts in Flaring Reduction
php?page=izteleyova. (no date). Mr. Adenjii, General Manager for Gas
178 Dana Milbank & Justin Blum,”Document Says Oil Marketing and Commercialization – Chevron Nigeria
Chiefs Met with Cheney Task Force,” Washington Post, 208 Lillis, Joanna, “Oilfield Brawl Dents Kazakhstan’s Im- Mid Africa SBU.
November 16, 2005; Michael Abramowitz and Steven age,” Eurasianet, November 21, 2006.
Mufson, “Papers Detail Industry’s Role in Cheney’s 239 “Use Your Profit to Clean Up Your Mess,” Shell Ac-
Energy Report,” Washington Post, July 18, 2007. 209 Meeting between Crude Accountability, Svetlana countability Coalition, 1 February 2007.
Anosova, Shynar Izteleyova and Chevron in Washing-
179 Jane Mayer, “Contract Sport: What Did the Vice- ton, DC, July 2003. 240 Francesca Francia, “Broken Promise In Manila,” http://
President Do for Halliburton?” New Yorker, February www.gcmonitor.org/article.php?id=87.
16, 2004. 210 “Press Release: IFC Out of Compliance at Kara-
chaganak Oil Field,” Crude Accountability and Green 241 Vic Vega and Joel Atencio, “Pandacan Gas Leak Downs
180 Lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch, tables at http://www. Salvation, April 30, 2008. 20 PUP Students,” Manila Bulletin, 18 July 2001.
judicialwatch.org/iraqi-oil-maps.shtml. 242 Jerome Aning and Ronnel Domingo, “NGO raises
211 Environmental Rights Action, “Chevron Security
181 Ron Suskind, The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, Shoots Peaceful Protesters at Aruntan—Ugborodo cancer fears around Pandacan oil depot,” Philippine
the White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill Community,” Field Report 189, November 25, 2008. Daily Inquirer, 28 March 2003.
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004), 96. 243 “SC Upholds Directive for Removal of Pandacan Oil
212 See generally, Chevron 2008 Annual Report.
182 Thaddeus Herrick, “U.S. Oil Wants to Work in Iraq— Terminals,” Supreme Court of the Philippines, 13
Firms Discuss How to Raise Nation’s Output After a 213 Ibid. at 20. February 2008.
Possible War,” Wall Street Journal, January 16, 2003. 214 Ibid. 244 Jerome Aning and Ronnel Domingo, “NGO raises
183 Erik Leaver and Greg Muttitt, “Slick Connections: 215 Ibid. cancer fears around Pandacan oil depot,” Philippine
U.S. Influence on Iraq oil,” Foreign Policy in Focus, Daily Inquirer, 28 March 2003.
216 Testimony from Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director
July 17, 2007. 245 “University of the Philippines College of Medicine, A
of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth
184 Greg Muttitt, “Hijacking Iraq’s Oil Reserves: Economic Nigeria on September 28, 2008 to the Senate Judiciary Cross-Sectional Study on the Neurophysiologic Effect
Hit Men at Work,” in A Game as Old as Empire: The Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, at 2. of Exposure to Refined Petroleum Products Among
Secret World of Economic Hit Men and the Web of Adult Residence” in Three Barangays Near the Panda-
217 Ibid. at 13, 20. can Oil Depot, February 2005
Global Corruption, ed. Steven Hiatt (San Francisco:
Berrett Koehler, 2007), 144. 218 Douglas, Oronto, Von Kemedi, Ike Okonta, and 246 City Council of Manila, Ordinance No. 8027, Section
Michael Watts, “Alienation and Militancy in the Niger 3, Manila, 13 December 2001.
185 Ibid.
Delta: A Response to CSIS on Petroleum, Politics and
186 Daniel Witt, interviewed on Marc Steiner Show, Democracy in Nigeria,” DC: Foreign Policy in Focus, 247 Mike Frialde And Evelyn Macairan, “SC orders
WYPR, 88.1 FM, Baltimore, Maryland, May 14, 2007. 2003, at 2. removal of Manila oil depot,” The Philippine Star, 8
March 2007.
187 Chevron Corporation, “Strengthening America’s 219 World Bank , World Development Indicators Data-
Energy Pillar.” base, 2008. Note: Per capita values were obtained by 248 G.R. No. 156052, Social Justice Society vs. Atienza, 13
dividing the Total GDP data by the Population data. February 2008.
188 Draft Oil and Gas Law Prepared by the Committee
on February 15, 2007, Council of Ministers Oil and 220 Douglas, Oronto, et. al., “Alienation and Militancy in 249 Katherine Adraneda, “DENR to Scrap Pandacan oil
Energy Committee, Republic of Iraq, Draft Iraq Oil the Niger Delta.” at 2. depot environmental compliance certificate,” Philstar,
and Gas Law, No. of 2007, February 15, 2007. 30 March 2009.
221 Human Rights Watch, “The Price of Oil: Corporate
189 Uchenna Izundu, “Iraq considers PSAs for second Responsibility and Human Rights Violations” in 250 “20 Manila councilors backing oil depot hit,” Inquirer.
licensing round,” Oil & Gas Journal, March 30, 2009 Nigeria Oil Producing Communities. New York, 1999, net, 1 April 2009.
and Sinan Salaheddin, “Iraq Opens Nearly 90 Pct of Its at 59. 251 Erika Sauler, “Draft Ordinance 7177 Still On Agenda,”
Oil Reserves,” Associated Press, January 2, 2009. Philippine Daily Inquirer, 31, March 2009.
222 Environmental Rights Action, Chevron Record An-
190 “Economic and Energy Development in the Middle other Oil Spill, Delays Clean-up Exercise, November 252 Letter from Randy Johnson, Country Chairman of
East; A Time for Optimism,” Peter J. Robertson, vice 2002, field report 114. Chevron Philippines Inc., to the FACES Board of
chairman, ChevronTexaco. Statement at the Middle Directors, dated February 18, 2008.
223 Bassey Testimony, September 28, 2008 at 4.
East Petroleum and Gas Conference, Dubai, United
Arab Emirates, September 8, 2003, weblink in online 224 “Flaring in Nigeria: A Human Rights, Environmental 253 Amazon Watch, “Berkeley Resolution,” Press Release,
report. and Economic Monstrosity,” Report by The Climate January 30, 2008.
Justice Programme and Friends of the Earth Interna- 254 Amazon Watch, “San Francisco Board of Supervisors
191 Chevron Corporation, “Strengthening America’s
tional 2005 at 10,11 and “Toxic Flares: Harmful Gas Approves Resolution Condemning Chevron’s Abuses
Energy Pillar.”
Flaring in Nigeria” by ERA December 2008 Newsletter Worldwide,” Press Release, June 11, 2008.
192 Brian Ross, “Secret Report: No Iraq Oil Deal by Issue #5 .
September,” The Blotter, ABC News, weblink in online
report.

Chevron Alternative 2008 Annual Report 45

 Sponsor Organizations
Amazon Watch, Crude Accountability, Global Exchange, Justice
in Nigeria Now, and Rainforest Action Network.

With
CorpWatch, Filipino-American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity,
Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Trustees
for Alaska, Communities for a Better Environment, Mpalabanda,
Richmond Progressive Alliance and EarthRights International.

Lead Author and Editor Contributing Authors

Antonia Juhasz, is a policy-analyst, author and activist. She is the Mitch Anderson, Nnimmo Bassey, Agostinho Chicaia, Victoria Clark, Stephen
author of The Tyranny of Oil: the World’s Most Powerful Industry— E. Cotton, Charlie Cray, David Cullen, Paul Donowitz, Sarah Dotlich, Daniel
And What We Must Do To Stop It (HarperCollins, 2008) and The Bush Herriges, Michelle Kinman, Laura Livoti, Marilyn Langlois, Brant Olson, Aileen
Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time (HarperCollins Suzara, and Jessica Tovar.
2006). She is an associate fellow with the Institute for Policy Studies,
a fellow with Oil Change International, and a senior analyst for Foreign Research
Policy In Focus. She has taught at the New College of California Judith Balmin, Sam Edmondson, Lance Courtney, and Andrea Samulon.
and McMaster University. A former Legislative Assistant to two
U.S. Members of Congress, she holds a Masters Degree in Public Copy Editing
Policy from Georgetown University. Her writing has appeared in the Suzanne Juhasz and Tonya Hennessey.
New York Times, Washington Post, International Herald Tribune and
Los Angeles Times, among other outlets. She was featured in the Design: Design Action Printing: Inkworks Press
CNBC documentary, “The Hunt for Black Gold,” and has appeared
on programs including, CNBC’s Kudlow & Company, Fox’s Hannity & Inhumane Energy ads designed by Underground Ads
Colmes, Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and Democracy Now! with Amy www.undergroundads.com
Goodman. www.TyrannyofOil.org.

www.TrueCostofChevron.com