A Brazilian prosecutor plans to file criminal charges against Chevron Corp and some of its local managers within weeks, adding the threat of prison sentences to an $11 billion civil lawsuit as punishment for a November offshore oil spill.As I wrote last November:
Brazil is going to do everything it can to blame Chevron for the offshore oil spill this month.I don't have all the facts and can't judge whether Chevron deserves this sort of prosecution. We'll learn more in the coming months as the case goes to trial. However, if Brazilian law determines that the Chevron team was taking an unacceptable risk, then how are they ever going to permit the drilling for pre-salt oil, which is going to be far riskier?
One other question: What if this was Sinopec rather than Chevron? Chinese oil companies are making big inroads across Latin America including Brazil. At some point down the road, Chinese oil companies are going to make these same sorts of mistakes. Holding them accountable is going to be a different political game than going after US oil companies.
