Exxon faces $1 billion fine for sabotaging Texas oil wells

[babsbunny]

http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/07/18/exxon-faces-1-billion-fine-for-sabotaging-texas-oil-wells/

By Daniel Tencer

Published: July 18, 2009

ExxonMobil’s sabotage of some 100 Texas oil wells in the past 17 years — going so far as to plug up some wells with explosives — means the world’s largest oil company could be liable for penalties of up to $1 billion, the Texas General Land Office says.

Jerry Patterson, commissioner of the state’s land office, released a report earlier this week asking the Texas Railroad Commission — which regulates the state’s oil industry — to investigate “ExxonMobil’s intentional sabotage of oil wells in Refugio County as well as the company’s fraudulent reports covering up the damage.”

[dipsydoodle]

1. Whoops

Recommend - as opposed to Exxon who seem to have "wrecked and not mended".

[havocmom]

2. Exxon, we play, you pay

and pay and pay

[wroberts189]

3. Which is less then 1% of their profits. Should make them fix them all as well. nt

[conspirator]

4. Nationalize the fucks nt

[FogerRox]

15. conspirator, I hear you. Ultimately that needs to be considered.

Of course if they start playing nice maybe it wont be necessary..........

[slampoet]

5. EXXON could kill the entire country of Japan and still get only a fine from the USA government.

[Hydra]

6. Would we actually fine them for that? n/t

[Liberal_in_LA]

11. +1

[surrealAmerican]

7. If it were an individual person who had committed these crimes ...

... a fine would not be the sole punishment. Why doesn't corporate personhood work when it comes to the crimes they commit?

[Horse with no Name]

8. Well how the fuck do you expect them to be able to raise prices

because "there has been a refinery explosion"?

[Union Yes]

9. In the end, the Supreme Court will reduce the fine to im guessing $10,000.

And some poor EM middle manager will lose his bonus so that EM actually doesn't lose a dime.

Corporate Titans like Exxon-Mobil aren't subject to the law, they're above it. They help write it.

See the recent Exxon Valdez decision reducing the fines from the oil spill disaster.

Once the dust settles, EM will still have its full power to manipulate the energy sector of our nation.

As has been said earlier in this thread..

NATIONALIZE THE FUCKERS!

[RB TexLa]

10. Everyone does this when they abandon wells. There's no reason to start fining people now just

because it's ExxonMobil.

[Fearless]

12. "UP TO" Exxon-Valdez ring a bell?

[givemebackmycountry]

13. In the time it took you to read this thread, Exxon/Mobil made 10 million in profits

Nothing to see here citizen, move along.

[valerief]

14. They haven't paid for the Exxon-Valdez spill yet, have they? It's been, what,

50 years now?

[FogerRox]

16. Some good sweet crude in Texas, some of the highest quality oil in the USA,

Light sweet crude with relatively low sulfur content.

Exxon said the field was no longer profitable and began shutting wells, a process that ended in August 1991, the documents showed.

Two years later, Emerald Oil, a closely held energy company based in Refugio, Texas, agreed to lease from the O’Connors one- third of the area formerly operated by Exxon. When Emerald drilled into the plugged wells to revive production, drill bits collided with cement, severed pipes and explosive charges normally used to perforate rock formations, Patterson said.

Exxon failed to accurately describe the obstacles it dumped into the wells in reports known as W-3s that it filed with the Railroad Commission,

From Bloomberg News.

And The Wall Street Journal is carrying the story:

HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--A Texas elected official Friday requested an investigation into alleged oil well sabotage in a rural part of the state by Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) - and said the world's largest publicly traded oil company could be liable for more than $1 billion in penalties.

Jerry Patterson, commissioner of the Texas General Land Office, said that the Irving, Texas, oil giant intentionally damaged abandoned oil wells in order to keep other producers from exploiting them.

WSJ

[Wednesdays]

17. K&R

:kick: