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Teaching Unit
Global Oil and Human Rights: Ecuador and Nigeria
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Global Oil and Human Rights: Ecuador and Nigeria
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Global Oil and Human Rights: Ecuador and Nigeria
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Global Oil and Human Rights: Ecuador and Nigeria
1956
Royal Dutch Shell discovers commercial oil in the Niger Delta.
1967
Texaco/Gulf Consortium strikes oil in northeastern Ecuadorian Amazon
1972
Oil pipeline constructed from Ecuadorian Amazon to the Pacific Ocean.
1976
Ecuadorian government becomes majority owner in consortium, with Texaco continuing as the operator.
1990
Ken Saro-Wiwa and the MOvement of the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) present hte Ogoni Bill of Rights to the Nigerian government.
1992
Texaco leaves Ecuador and Petroecuador becomes the owner and operator of Texaco's former operations.
1993
Class action lawsuit against Texaco begins, demanding cleanup and compensation.
1994
Ken Saro-Wiwa and other MOSOP leaders are executed by the Nigerian government.
1996
Lawsuits are brought against Shell in U.S. courts under the Alien Tort Claims Act and other laws, accusing the company of complicity in human rights abuses in the Niger Delta, including the deaths of Saro-Wiwa and others.
2001
United States court dismisses lawsuit, sending the case to the Ecuadorian courts.
2009
Shell settles with the Saro-Wiwa family for $15.5 million, without conceding any responsibility for his death.
2011
Ecuadorian court rules on behalf of plaintiffs, awarding them $8 billion. Chevron refuses to pay.
2014
"U.S. court decision finds that the Ecuadorian verdict was contaminated by ""coercion, bribery, money laundering and other misconduct.” 2016 Appellate Court decision sided with Chevron and upheld verdict against the original plaintiffs."
2018
Hague Court of Arbitration declares that Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron was obtained "through fraud, bribery and corruption.” Steven Donziger’s law license suspended.