Chevron Wins Another Round Against Ecuador

I’ve lost track of the enormously complex series of disputes between Chevron and Ecuador. It stems from lawsuits brought against Chevron in Ecuadorian courts, and then attempts to enforce them in the U.S. (and attempts to block the enforcement).  And there are Chevron’s various claims in arbitration tribunals against Ecuador. For a little background, see Roger’s post here. . On this front, Chevron has won yet another round.

An arbitration tribunal at The International Court of Justice at The Hague ordered the government of Ecuador to pay Chevron and its current subsidiary Texaco $96 million for “undue delays” of 15 years in ruling on seven commercial disputes in the early 1990s.     The ruling does not affect – or directly involve – the $18.2 billion judgment that a provincial Ecuadorean court ruled against Chevron in early 2011 in connection with a massive oil spill in the Amazonian region of Lago Agrio.

This award comes from the Permanent Court of Arbitration. For Chevron’s press release, see here. The spin (but probably true) is that this award is further evidence of the serious problems in the Ecuador judicial system. Given that Chevron recently lost a judgment for $18 billion there, it is not surprising they have declared war on the entire Ecuadorian judicial system.