Tag: lawsuit

Chevron Oil Spill update Brazil's largest oil workers union filed a lawsuit against U.S. oil company Chevron and drilling firm Transocean that seeks to cancel their rights to operate in the country as the result of an offshore oil spill last November.The case, brought by the FUP oil workers federation in Brazilian federal court, raises the legal and political stakes for Chevron and Transocean which are already fighting criminal and civil cases related to the spill.FUP, which has long opposed foreign involvement in Brazilian oil development, said Chevron and Transocean "offended the Brazilian people" with "predatory and environmentally unsound practices."FUP wants the court to force Chevron to give up a field that has cost about $2 billion in investment and was producing up to 80,000 barrels a day of oil. It also seeks unspecified financial damages for the Brazilian people.In addition to the Sedco 706 drill platform working for Chevron, Transocean has nine other billion-dollar-plus rigs working in Brazil. Each earns hundreds of thousands of dollars a day in lease fees."Chevron lied to the Brazilian state," Joao Antonio Moraes, FUP's legal coordinator, told Reuters."We're seeking the cancellation of their concession in the field where their operations have shown to be ...

BP settles lawsuit with thousands of individuals affected by the Gulf of Mexico

Settlement could be announced this week BP Plc is seeking to settle a lawsuit over the massive 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill by tapping into a $14 billion fund it set aside to compensate fishermen and businesses harmed by the disaster, lawyers familiar with the talks said. In exchange, the claimants, represented by a group called the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, would drop their lawsuit in a court case scheduled to start in New Orleans on March 5.U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier delayed the trial by a week on Sunday to allow talks between BP and the PSC, which represents fishermen, oystermen, hoteliers and restaurateurs who say their livelihoods were damaged by the April 20, 2010, explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and subsequent oil spill.The settlement would tap the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF), a $20 billion fund BP set up in August 2010 to compensate victims. The fund, overseen by Kenneth Feinberg, has already paid out about $6.1 billion to compensate about 200,000 individuals and businesses, leaving about $14 billion in available funds."The discussions are ongoing," said Brent Coon, a Houston lawyer who represents about 8,000 clients who have filed claims with the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. ...

Trial will start next week A federal judge ruled Wednesday that BP PLC and one of its minority partners in the blown-out Macondo well are liable for civil penalties under the Clean Water Act for their roles in the nation's worst offshore oil spill.U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier also ruled that Deepwater Horizon rig owner Transocean Ltd. may be liable under the same law as an "operator" of the well. The judge, however, said he couldn't decide before a trial scheduled to start Feb. 27 whether Transocean meets the definition of that term.The Justice Department argued that BP, minority partner Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Transocean are each liable for per-barrel civil penalties for oil discharged from the well.Barbier rejected Anadarko's argument that oil discharged from Transocean's rig, not the well."Pressure within the earth drove hydrocarbons up the Macondo Well, through the (blowout preventer), and finally out the riser," the judge wrote. "Thus, the uncontrolled movement of oil began in the well. The riser and (blowout preventer), by contrast, were merely passive conduits through which oil flowed."Barbier also ruled that BP and Anadarko - but not Transocean - are "responsible parties" under the Oil Pollution Act for oil that flowed from ...

Costa concordia survivors ask for at least $528 million in damages Dozens of additional survivors of the Costa Concordia shipwreck off Italy have joined a Florida lawsuit that accuses the ship's owners of gross negligence and fraud, and asks for at least $528 million in damages.An amended lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in the state circuit court in Miami against Carnival Corp, which is incorporated in Panama and headquartered in Miami, and several of its subsidiaries, including Florida-based Costa Cruise Lines and Costa Crociere, which is based in Italy and operated the ill-fated ship.Thirty-three more surviving passengers were added to the six in the original lawsuit filed in January, bringing the total number of plaintiffs to 39.Carnival declined to comment, saying it does not typically comment on litigation matters.The lawsuit alleges that the company acted with gross negligence and careless disregard during the cruise that ended on Jan. 13 when the Costa Concordia hit a reef and capsized off the coast of Italy. The ship carried 4,200 passengers and crew; 17 are known dead and 15 are missing.The suit alleges that the crew failed to conduct safety drills, that the ship was off course when it hit the reef, that ...

$11 billion civil lawsuit as punishment for a November offshore oil spill A Brazilian prosecutor plans to file criminal charges against Chevron Corp and some of its local managers within weeks, adding the threat of prison sentences to an $11 billion civil lawsuit as punishment for a November offshore oil spill.The filing in federal court in Campos, Brazil, will likely include a request for criminal indictment of George Buck, chief executive of Chevron's Brazil unit, as well as other staff, three Brazilian government officials involved in the case told Reuters.Transocean Ltd, whose rig was used in the operation, and some of its employees in Brazil are also expected to be charged, according to the officials, who requested anonymity because the case has not been presented to a judge. It is up to a judge to determine whether to accept the charges and proceed with indictments.The backlash against the Chevron spill has highlighted the risks that energy companies face as they rush to get a piece of Brazil's oil bonanza. Chevron's legal troubles come as new oil rules give Brazil's government more control over the country's vast oil wealth. The regulatory overhaul has also delayed investment projects and new drilling licenses.Buck ...

Crew member claims being unaware of the Carnival Corp, whose luxury cruise liner Costa Concordia capsized off the coast of Italy, was sued by a crew member in a first of what may be multiple U.S. lawsuits seeking class-action status over the disaster, court documents show.Lawyers for Gary Lobaton, who was a crew member on board the Costa Concordia, said in a court filing that he was not aware of the "dangerous conditions" of the cruise ship until it was too late to abandon the ship.The lawsuit sought to determine whether Carnival deviated from international safety standards when operating the cruise ship."Costa Concordia's Captain, Francesco Schettino, delayed the order to abandon ship and deploy the lifeboats," Lobaton's lawyers said in the filing.Lobaton, who sued Carnival individually and on behalf of all others similarly affected by the cruise disaster, had sought damages from the company, according to the court filing.Lobaton had also requested the court to assign class-action status to the lawsuit.The 114,500-tonne ship capsized off the Tuscan coast, which left 11 people dead and 22 missing.According to a January 24 BBC report, the number of dead has risen to 16.Carnival could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters outside ...

The maritime court in the northern coastal city of Tianjin took up the case on Friday A Chinese court is allowing a $78 million lawsuit brought against ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) to move forward, after having dismissed a similar lawsuit in 2011, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Friday. The legal action was brought by a group of local aquaculture farmers who believe their sea cucumbers were killed off by two June oil spills in the Bohai Sea. ConocoPhillips had previously acknowledged the leaks.The maritime court in the northern coastal city of Tianjin took up the case on Friday. It pits a group of 29 aqua-farmers against ConocoPhillips China and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), which operate a joint offshore drilling venture. ConocoPhillips China is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American oil giant.Approximately 700 barrels of oil and some 2,500 barrels of mineral oil-based drilling mud were released into Bohai Bay during the June incidents. The industrial accidents that led to the leaks occurred at two separate platforms, according to company statements. One platform has been repaired, while the other well is permanently plugged and abandoned, ConocoPhilips said.ConocoPhillips has a 49 percent stake in the field and the remaining 51 ...

$24 million for the cost of environmental cleanup After the Canadian Coast Guard and the federal government washed their hands of responsibility for a beat-up 230-metre bulk carrier grounded off the coast of Cape Breton, the Nova Scotia government issued an order to the Russian captain of the tug boat that lost the ship to come and get it.The MV Miner has been stranded off the coast of Scaterie Island since late September, when high winds caused it to break free from The Hellas, the Russian tugboat that was dragging the ship to Turkey for scrap.The province released The Hellas from ship arrest Thursday morning on a security of $1,050,000, the value of the ship.But it also slapped the ship's owners, Pellas Shipping Company, with a removal order under the Crown Lands Act, and is planning to issue the same order to Arivina Navigation, the company that owns the MV Miner.Both companies must now provide the province with a detailed removal plan.What's more, the province is suing the owners of The Hellas for upwards of $24 million for the cost of environmental cleanup, and possibly the cost of removal, should they refuse to comply with the removal order.But that doesn't ...

Shell shouldn't have been issued an oil drilling permit Royal Dutch Shell Oil may have gotten the Obama administration to approve the most aggressive Arctic drilling proposal in US history, but not without a challenge. A coalition of native and conservation groups filed suit against the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement's (BOEMRE) over its decision to allow offshore oil drilling in Arctic's Beaufort Sea.In granting the permit, BOEMRE said it "found no evidence that the proposed action would significantly affect the quality of the human environment."Yet, U.S. Coast Guard officials have repeatedly explained the resources to clean up an oil spill in the Arctic Ocean simply don't exist. This summer, Commandant Admiral Robert Papp told Congress the federal government has "zero" spill response capability in the Arctic."The lawsuit filed against the Obama administration argues Shell shouldn't have been issued an oil drilling permit in the Arctic's Beaufort Sea without having a credible cleanup plan in the event of an oil spill."The holes in Shell's plan, notably the lack of a workable oil spill response plan, leave the fragile natural systems of the Arctic and the livelihoods of native communities at risk. Smarter transportation choices, not dangerous drilling ...