The Dictator Penalty

Chevron's $30 million settlement Thursday of charges involving illegal kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's government in 2001-2002 won't be much of a ding to its bottom line. It's more a reminder of the "dictator penalty" in Big Oil's dealings with the world's worst governments. There may also be criminal charges to come against Chevron in the Iraq case, which occurred during the old Axis of Evil days.

The Iraq settlement is, however, dwarfed by Chevron's other potential liabilities, including:

Ecuador: A $6 billion lawsuit over the environmental ravages of Texaco, now part of Chevron, in the Ecuadoran Amazon.

Nigeria: The company faces a continuing lawsuit charging human rights violations against opponents in the oil-producing Niger Delta. There, a stew of oil money and corruption is to blame for widespread social disintegration and violence.

Myanmar: Chevron refuses to withdraw from its partial ownership of natural gas fields and pipelines in the former Burma. Gas money supports one of the world's harshest juntas--one that doesn't flinch at killing Buddhist monks or any other protesters (or journalists) daring to appear in the streets.

Kazakhstan: Chevron boasts of being "Kazakhstan's largest private oil producer." Political opposition leaders, suppressed and often jailed by President-since-1991 Nursultan Nazarbaev, charge that his corrupt regime is supported not just by direct oil income but by huge illegal kickbacks. In 2005, after elections in which the main opposition party was banned outright, Chevron pledged $3 billion in new investment for a fivefold boost in the nation's crude oil production.

Russia: Chevron's interest in buying the disputed assets of the Russian oil company Yukos prompted a letter of alarm by California Controller John Chiang, who found it such a risky, tainted investment that he asked the state retirement fund to monitor its large investments in Chevron.

Chevron is far from alone in cozying up to corrupt, undemocratic governments. But the settlement of the Iraq charges offers a snapshot of how oil companies in these countries end up acting against the interests of indigenous citizens and in opposition to U.S. interests. It's all to the detriment of America's place in the world.

Some may recall that Chevron also spent over $40 million on phony arguments to defeat last year's ballot initiative (Proposition 87) to fund renewable energy development in California.

As a business model, being No. 1 in Kazakhstan or king of the powder keg in Nigeria has more long-term drawbacks than the uncertainties of biofuels. Oil companies, still awash in cash, can afford to make some new mistakes in commercially developing renewables, a down payment on a future where shame doesn't come with the territory.

Comments

[realitytrumpsbull]

Hey, Chevron, in 10 years no one will need your
crap anymore. Won't you join US? LOL

These people made their billions playing both
sides of the table for years and years in
the middle east, they're every bit as guilty
as those Blackwater people as far as I'm
concerned, I hope they lose every thin dime
they ever made.

Oh, and Chevron-peeps, did Bush really get
'elected' or did money change hands, there?
What REALLY Happened? Enquiring minds wanna
know...

[Ueb]

This is the same company that put the House of Saud in power when they discovered the Arabian oil fields in the 1930's when they were known as SOCAL- Standard Oil of California. If you wonder why there's so much anti-Semitism in the Middle East, you should start your search here.

[Spookcatcher]

As long as these Companies are just extensions of the Elitist Fascists, that are only concerned with world dominance, and have the U.S. Military to guard their assets and place whoever they pick and choose to be in power to run other countries they want to pillage for whatever resources are desired, all people of the world are in peril. The U.S. Government 2 party Democracy is a shell game. We need to Nationalize all our Energy Companies and the Telecommunications Industry too. And we need to stop re-electing anyone back into office. No Incumbants OR their Family members! Clean the slate in 2008!

[Danny]

Shame? Shame?? who gives a hoot? Corporations have no conscience. It's ALL about money, morals be damned. Isn't that what they teach in business schools nowadays?

[realitytrumpsbull]

So, what's your remedy, more antitrust lawsuits
in Congress, a special oil industry bill?
Does Chevron write our national policies,
in effect? Is our government basically a
wholly-owned subsidiary of OPEC? What's
REALLY going on, here?

[Henry]

Isn't this the company for which Condoleezza Rice was a member of the board of directors?

[TXfemmom]

Perhaps, if they started sending the CEO's, officers, Boards, and various other company officials to prison, IN THE COUNTRIES WHERE THEY DID THIS, for five to ten years, then significant advancements could be made. Good luck at getting any of this done in this government bought and paid for my corporations.