Environmental Litigation News

Brazil's oil regulator laid heavy criticism on U.S. oil company Chevron Corp. Thursday for an oil spill at an offshore field last November, but said it has no objections to the firm restarting production.

The human rights group EarthRights International wants answers about the government's amicus brief in the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court rehearing of Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, which will determine whether victims of international human rights violations can sue in U.S. courts.

BP PLC will pay $13 million to settle most of the remaining safety violations U.S. regulators found in 2009 at its Texas City refinery, the site of a fatal 2005 blast, the company and the government said Thursday.

Chevron says that its adversaries played dirty to obtain an $18 billion judgment against the oil giant in Ecuador. But so far the Ecuadorian plaintiffs—who claim that Chevron is responsible for oil pollution in the Amazon basin—are taking the high road in seeking enforcement of the award. A month ago they chose Canada as their first forum for recognition of the judgment. On Wednesday, they chose Brazil as their second.

The Justice Department is drawing closer to civil and criminal settlements with BP PLC and Transocean Ltd. over the Deepwater Horizon disaster, deals that will likely include billions of dollars in fines and penalties.