As the courts continue to decipher myriad legal issues stemming from pollution that occurred decades ago in an Ecuadorian rainforest region, today Chevron won a decision that stated a previous multibillion dollar judgment had been obtained by fraud. The pollution occurred during oil development activities undertaken by Texaco and national oil company Petroecuador from the… Keep reading →
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation – NNPC – allegedly withheld $49.8 billion of oil revenue from the Nigerian government and recently sought to explain what happened to $10.8 billion of that sum. Corruption has long plagued the Nigerian oil industry and the country ranked 144th out of 177 nations analyzed in Transparency International’s 2013 Corruption… Keep reading →
It’s hard to find a good quote when nobody’s talking. In this developing story, several Chinese national oil company employees – some fairly high ranking including CNPC’s chief accountant – have been “summoned to assist in an investigation,” according to Chinese news reports. It appears the wide-ranging government investigation that has been underway for months… Keep reading →
The fatal Quebec oil train disaster looks likely to touch off yet another debate affecting the future of the Keystone XL pipeline – whether pipelines or rail are a safer way to transport oil. “People think rail is costless until something like this happens.” [Bloomberg] France’s Total and its Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie were… Keep reading →
Jennifer Lopez performed in Turkmenistan over the weekend at the request of a major Chinese state-owned oil company, only to be dismayed when she – or her handlers – discovered Turkmenistan’s less-than-stellar human rights record. China National Petroleum Corporation – parent of listed subsidiary Petro China – reportedly requested Lopez sing “Happy Brithday” to Turkmen… Keep reading →
The energy business – particularly the oil & gas sector – is one of the most global industries by virtue of the need to go where the resources are located. This makes national borders arbitrary and leads companies to invest billions of dollars in jurisdictions with high levels of above-ground risk. In their 2013 Fraud… Keep reading →
