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Chevron Corporation
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Energy Technologies
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In addition to oil, Chevron also develops and commercializes advanced energy technologies, including fuel cells, photovoltaics, and advanced batteries, and has said it is active in research and development efforts to utilize hydrogen as a fuel for transport and power.
Chevron is investing $300M USD per year into alternative fuel sources, and has created a biofuels business unit.
Environmental RecordEdit
Companies in the petroleum-based energy industry generally draw a wide range of criticism, and are often referred to as Big Oil. Because of the inelasticity of the demand of petroleum and the high risk nature of operations abroad, the companies involved in the industry have been accused of playing a large role in influencing economic and foreign policies in nations across the globe. Some criticism is directed at the industry in general, in that the burning of fossil fuels contributes to air pollution and global warming, and that extractive operations spoil natural landscapes. Large energy companies are often suspected of resisting alternative energy, for example buying patents to new technological advances to stop more energy efficient modes of transport.
Chevron Corporation in particular is allegedly responsible for severe ecological destruction. Texaco, which became part of Chevron in 2001, dumped over 18 billion gallons of toxic wastewater into the Amazon rainforests from 1964-1992, in what has become known as the “rainforest Chernobyl,” and is often considered one of the world’s worst ecological catastrophes.
Various Ecuadorian groups have sued Chevron for its activities, arguing it purposefully misrepresented its activities in the rainforest. Chevron’s attorneys maintain they are being victimized by profit-seeking plaintiffs. The lawsuit is led by Pablo Fajardo, who recently won a CNN Heroes award for his work. Pablo Fajardo and Luis Yanza were also awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for their work in this case, the most prestigious environmental prize in the world. In April 2008, a court-appointed expert submitted a report to the judge in the Ecuadorian trial recommending that Chevron be held liable for damages between $7 billion and $16 billion. The larger estimate reflects an "unjust enrichment" penalty based on the finding that Texaco saved approximately $8.3 billion by using substandard environmental controls.
A separate lawsuit was dismissed from US courts when it was found that "they [the plaintiffs] revealed in depositions that they didn't actually have cancer, or that the family members they said had cancer actually did not." Cristobal Bonifaz, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, was later fined $45,000 for his involvement in the falsified claims. Bonifaz had previously been fired from the plaintiffs' legal team in the larger Ecuadorian case for unethical conduct.
In the U.S., Chevron’s activities in Richmond, California have been the subject of ongoing controversy. Chevron’s Richmond operations house over 5,500 tons of toxic materials, and have been responsible for over 304 accidents. For illegally bypassing wastewater treatments and failing to notify the public about toxic releases, Chevron’s Richmond refineries were forced to pay $540,000 in 1998. Overall, Chevron is responsible for ninety-five Superfund sites — locations for which the EPA has earmarked funds for cleanup. In October, 2003, the state of New Hampshire sued Chevron and other oil companies for using MTBE, a gasoline additive that the attorney general claimed polluted much of the state's water supply.
Chevron’s African operations have also been criticized as environmentally unsound. In 2002, Angola became the first African nation to ever fine a major multinational corporation operating in its own waters when it demanded 2 million dollars in compensation for oil spills allegedly caused by Chevron’s poor maintenance.
On October 16, 2003, Chevron U.S.A. Inc. resolved a Clean Air Act settlement, which reduced harmful air emissions by about 10,000 tons a year. In San Francisco, Chevron was filed by a consent decree to spend almost $275 million to install and utilize innovative technology to reduce nitrogen and sulfur dioxide emissions at its refineries. After violating the Clean Air Act at an offline loading terminal in El Segundo, California, Chevron paid a $6 million penalty as well as $1 million for environmental improvement projects. Chevron also had implemented programs that minimized production of hazardous gases, upgraded its leak detection and repair practices, reduced emissions from its sulfur recovery plants and adopted strategies to ensure the proper handling of harmful benzene wastes at each refinery. Chevron also spent about $500,000 to install leakless valves and double-sealed pumps at its El Segundo refinery, which could prevent significant emissions of air contaminants.
Defenders of Chevron’s environmental record point to recent changes in the corporation, particularly its pledge, as of 2004, to combat global warming.
Abuse and Death of Nigerian ProtestersEdit
On May 28, 1998, as activists were staging a demonstration on an oil platform in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, Nigerian police and soldiers, instead of Chevron representatives (as the activists expected), were flown in with Chevron helicopters.
Soldiers shot at the activists and subsequently two activists (Jola Ogungbeje and Aroleka Irowaninu) died from their wounds. Chevron describes the situation as "a violent occupation of private property by aggressors seeking to extort cash payments from the company." The Nigerian government is reportedly 80% dependent upon oil production and is condemned by many for its reported treatment of environmentalists. The documentary "Drilling and Killing" covers these and other topics.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, allowing a lawsuit brought by victims and victims' families against Chevron to proceed, said that there is evidence that Chevron has hired, supervised, and provided transportation to Nigerian military forces known for their "general history of committing abuses." In March 2008, the plaintiffs' lawyers, without explanation, "quietly moved to withdraw half of their claims" against Chevron.
New Policy and DevelopmentEdit
Chevron has taken steps to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and to pursue cleaner forms of energy. Chevron invests in alternative energy sources and has set targets for reducing its own emissions, and has scored highest among U.S. oil companies for this. Chevron is the world's largest producer of geothermal energy, providing enough power for over 7 million homes.
