ExxonMobil sabotage row: Supermajor denies accusations.
ExxonMobil slams $1bn sabotage claim
ExxonMobil said a state regulator that is seeking to fine the supermajor up to $1 billion for allegedly sabotaging an oilfield it used to operate has “no idea what he's talking about”.
Jerry Patterson, head of the Texas General Land Office, which oversees royalty payments to the state, had accused ExxonMobil of dumping cuttings, broken pipe and explosives down wells it had plugged in the early 1990s after stopping operations on a field in south Texas owned by the O’Connor family.
Patterson had asked the Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees oilfield operations in the state, to look into the alleged violations, which could carry fines of up to $1 billion.
In a written response to the Railroad Commission, ExxonMobil attorneys said Patterson knew little of the facts in the case and his office had no standing because the operations are not on state land.
“Patterson has apparently been gravely misinformed, and, as a result, his letter is rife with false statements, exaggerations, misrepresentations about courts actions in the referenced lawsuits, and baseless allegations contradicted by the evidence in the pending litigation,” ExxonMobil attorney W Timothy George said in the letter.
“Had Patterson been more familiar with the actual facts of the cases, he would not have demanded a show-cause hearing about the legal and factual issues that have already been in litigation for more than 10 years and that are currently pending in the Texas Supreme Court.”
The allegations first surfaced in a suit against ExxonMobil by the O'Connor family and Texas junior Emerald Oil, which bought rights to work over a portion of the field.
In the case, they alleged ExxonMobil improperly plugged the wells after the family refused to lower its 50% royalty rate.
Lower courts found ExxonMobil guilty but the case was overturned by the Texas Supreme Court, which said the plaintiffs had taken too long to bring their grievance.
All the parties to the case have filed for a rehearing
In a letter sent early last month, Patterson further alleged that ExxonMobil falsified records of the pluggings submitted to the Railroad Commission.
ExxonMobil called that claim an “egregious inaccuracy” and said none of the courts involved in the case have found that the supermajor falsified records.
George said ExxonMobil would present its evidence before the Railroad Commission if asked to do so, but the case lacked any merit to come before the state and should be left to the courts.
A representative with the Texas General Land Office could be immediately reached for comment.
- For a full copy of ExxonMobil’s response, see the PDF file in the related files section to the right of this story.