British Petroleum (BP)

BP settles criminal charges for $4 billion in spill; supervisors indicted on manslaughter

whit — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:35:36 +0000

BP has agreed to plead guilty to 14 criminal counts, including manslaughter, and will pay $4 billion over five years in a settlement with the Justice Department over the April 20, 2010, drilling disaster in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 people and unleashed the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, officials announced Thursday.

The fine is the largest criminal payment in U.S.

Constitutional Court Invalidates BP Migas

whit — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 08:45:20 +0000

The Constitutional Court on Tuesday annulled articles of the 2001 Oil and Gas Law that were the foundation for the creation of BPMigas, Indonesia’s upstream oil and gas regulator.

In a ruling published on its website on Tuesday, the court, known as MK, declared that the regulator must be abolished as the articles that gave BPMigas the right to represent the government, manage its oil and gas resources and sign contracts with foreign companies were unconstitutional.

“BPMigas is unconstitutional, and MK has the authority to annul laws that are unconstitutional,” said chief judge Mahf

Alaskan village loses appeal in global warming case against oil giants

whit — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 11:21:49 +0100

Residents of an Alaskan village threatened by an eroding coastline have lost an appeal in a closely watched case against some of the biggest oil producers in the world.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on September 21 found that the village of Kivalina could not recover money damages from ExxonMobil Corp., BP America Inc., Chevron Corp. and other energy companies for greenhouse gas emissions that the plaintiffs said threaten the destruction of their northwest Alaskan coastal homes.

The village, with a population of 400, is composed of 97 percent Inupiat Native Alaskans.

BP Sued in Ecuador for Violating the Rights of Nature

whit — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 20:53:33 +0000

A group of environmentalists from several countries in the southern hemisphere filed a lawsuit against British Petroleum (BP) in Ecuador last week for environmental damages related to the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Amazon Indigenous Leaders Bringing Lessons for Coping With Oil Disasters to Native Residents of U.S. Gulf Coast

Kailash — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 09:21:24 +0100

Amazon Indigenous Leaders Bringing Lessons for Coping With Oil Disasters to Native Residents of U.S. Gulf Coast
Monday, June 28, 2010 | Chevron in Ecuador Blog
Four very different people arrived last night in New Orleans on a late flight from Quito, Ecuador. One is a quiet but fierce 71-year-old grandmother with 27 grandchildren. Another is a gentle, soft-spoken man who is a leader of his Indigenous tribe from the Amazon. Another is a serious and sober man who has won worldwide acclaim for his unique work.

Indigenous people in legal challenge against oil firms over tar sand project

whit — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:01:20 +0000

Canada ‘s Beaver Lake Cree Nation group say their traditional way of life is being devastated by the rush to extract oil from vast tar sand fields

British oil firms are facing a legal battle over exploitation of the huge Canadian tar sand fields with indigenous people who claim the industry is ruining their traditional lands.

The Co-operative Bank will announce today that it is to fund a legal challenge by the Beaver Lake Cree Nation, which claims the boom in tar sands extraction is destroying their hunting and fishing lands.

The court challenge calls for an injunction to stop more th