Chevron

Chevron, an offshore oil and gas company, has been plagued by accidents, incidents, and controversies. From explosions on rigs to fires and oil leaks, and even claims of pollution from South American indigenous people, Chevron has experienced numerous accidents in recent years. If you work offshore and are hurt in an accident, know you have a right to fair compensation under maritime law.

Chevron History

The earliest predecessor for today’s Chevron Corporation was the Pacific Coast Oil Co., founded in San Francisco in 1879.

• Pacific Coast Oil discovered the first oil in California, in the Pico Canyon, and created the first successful oil well in the state.
• Soon after, the company was building refineries and pipelines.
• This early company merged with Iowa Standard to form Standard Oil Co., under the parent company of Standard Oil.
• In 1911 Standard Oil was split up under the Sherman Antitrust Act, and the future Chevron became known as Standard Oil Company of California.
• The company began using the Chevron name for retail products in the 1930s.
• Still, it wasn’t until 1977 that the name of the entire company was officially renamed Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
• Chevron acquired Texaco in 2000, which created the second-largest oil company in the U.S.

Chevron’s Operations

Chevron’s current operations include:

• Oil and natural gas exploration and production
• Refining
• Transportation
• Power generation
• Alternative energy, including hydrogen, wind power, solar power, and fuel cells
• Chemicals and additives
• Lubricants
• Chevron, Texaco, and Caltex service stations

Chevron explores and develops oil and gas fields worldwide, including numerous offshore sites. Some of the most recent exploration locations have included West Africa, offshore Australia, and the Gulf of Mexico.

The company is a leader in using new technologies for deepwater exploration and drilling. In exploration, Chevron uses things like seismic imaging and ocean bottom nodes. Chevron is also involved in shipping liquefied natural gas.

Chevron’s Safety Policy

The company claims to be dedicated to safety but also recognizes that it involves workers in some of the most dangerous activities in any industry.

Chevron strives to build layers of protection to prevent accidents and develop systems that foster a safety culture throughout the company. Chevron calls this “operational excellence.”

Company-wide workers are supposed to adhere to the principles of the OEMS, the Operational Excellence Management System. According to Chevron’s leadership, using these guiding principles, the company outperformed its safety targets for 2015.

It also claims to be an industry leader in preventing accidents and injuries. And yet, it recognizes that some recent fatalities could and should have been prevented.

Chevron Accidents

Despite a dedication to safety, Chevron has faced a lot of accidents over the years, including more than one worker fatality. The offshore industry of exploring and drilling for oil is dangerous. 

Even the most carefully planned safety strategy cannot prevent all accidents. Such has been the case with Chevron and some unfortunate workers.

Oil Rig Fatality

Although the company cited 2015 as a record year for preventing accidents, it failed to prevent the death of a worker in October on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Chevron was contracting the rig at the time. Exactly what happened was not reported, but the statement made said that just one worker died, and there were no other injuries. The rig was just getting started on drilling, but operations were halted after the accident.

Pipeline Fatality

Chevron also lost a worker in the Gulf of Mexico in 2014. The contract worker was doing maintenance on a gas pipeline along with others when it experienced a valve failure.

As with the 2015 incident, Chevron did not release much information about what happened, but in addition to the one fatality, two other workers suffered injuries.

Explosion and Fatalities

In 2011 and 2012, the company experienced severe accidents that hurt and killed workers. In Wales in June of 2011, four workers died after an explosion rocked a refinery there.

Sinkhole Fatality

In Bakersfield, not long after that, a worker died in the oil field when a steam-filled sinkhole opened up underneath him.

Not all of Chevron’s accidents have been safety-related. Some were environmental, including a 2011 spill out of one of the company’s deep-sea wells off the coast of Brazil.

Lawsuits Against Chevron

Any time there are workplace accidents like these, workers may sue the company for compensation for injuries or the death of a family member. Maritime workers have rights under the law to sue for damages if an employer is not offering adequate compensation.

There are also instances when cases are much bigger than just one or two individuals suffering from personal injuries.

Ecuador Lawsuit

One remained ongoing and was brought against Chevron by indigenous people in South America. The lawsuit began in 2003 when residents of Ecuador filed a class action suit against Chevron for polluting their Amazon rainforest home with 18 billion gallons of drilling byproduct water.

This kind of byproduct is polluted with solids and is unsuitable for drinking or even use in agriculture.

The people filing the suit claimed that Chevron polluted their homes and did nothing to remediate the damage. Chevron fought back, saying that oil companies based in Ecuador were liable and that Chevron entered a deal that had released them from any liability.

Eventually, the people were awarded over $8 billion to compensate for lost crops and animals and to cover the medical costs of illnesses caused by the pollution. They appealed, seeking more money, but Chevron refused to pay, so the case continued.

Nigeria Lawsuit

Chevron also faced a lawsuit filed in 2012 after an incident in the waters of Nigeria in West Africa. An oil rig exploded and burned for over a month. The incident left two workers dead and polluted, poisoning the local water and air.

The people there filed a lawsuit against Chevron to seek $5 billion in damages. They claimed that Chevron could be found negligent in the accident, but after two years, a court determined that negligence could not be proven. Chevron did not have to pay for that incident.

Lawsuits against maritime companies like Chevron can be as big as a class action lawsuit or as small as one individual suing for compensation after a minor accident.

All cases, however, require an expert in maritime law. If you have been injured on the job, don’t try to go it alone. Rely on the expertise of a professional maritime lawyer to guide your next moves and ensure that you get the money you are owed for your injuries, medical expenses, and pain and suffering.