Amazon Defense Coalition: Chevron CEO O`Reilly Under Intense Fire At Shareholder Meeting for Negligence On Ecuador Case

Refuses to Let Board Members Answer Own Questions As Conflict of Interest
Becomes Evident
SAN RAMON, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
Several large investors blasted Chevron CEO David O`Reilly today at the
company`s annual meeting for mishandling a potential $27 billion liability in
Ecuador, while O`Reilly left open the possibility he would visit Ecuador to
inspect the damage personally after being invited by a well-known local
community leader.

In a display of control, O`Reilly refused to let Chevron`s Board members answer
their own questions about whether they had independently vetted O`Reilly`s
handling of the Ecuador matter, which has been the subject of withering
criticism this week from industry analysts, shareholders and journalists.

Atossa Soltani, the executive director of the environmental advocacy group
Amazon Watch, asked Chevron`s Board members to explain what, if anything, they
had done to ascertain the truth about Ecuador independent of information given
them from O`Reilly and his management team. There have been charges that
Chevron`s legal department is misleading shareholders about the Ecuador suit in
its public filings, prompting a probe by New York State Attorney General Andrew
Cuomo that could impose both civil and criminal liability on the company.

O`Reilly refused to let any Board member answer Soltani`s question
--underscoring a criticism made by her this week in an open letter to Chevron
shareholders that the company`s Board is "passive" and failing to discharge its
fiduciary duties.

"It is clear O`Reilly rules Chevron`s Board with an iron fist to inoculate him
and other top Chevron officials from any independent critique of their
mishandling of the Ecuador matter," Soltani said after the meeting. "O`Reilly
has a conflict of interest being CEO and Chairman of the Board, and that was
clearly evident today."

"There is no evidence that Chevron`s Board has done anything meaningful to
challenge Chevron management as it goes off the rails and continues to mislead
shareholders about its responsibility for a humanitarian crisis of epic
proportions," she added.

Pat Doherty, a representative of several New York City pension funds that
control roughly $280 million of Chevron stock, told O`Reilly that Chevron`s
human rights problems in Ecuador, Nigeria, and Burma "threaten shareholder
value" and that it is clear the company has no "exit strategy" as regards
Ecuador. He also differed with O`Reilly on his attempt to blame the company`s
legal woes in Ecuador on the country`s President, Rafael Correa.

Chevron has launched a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign in Washington
"punish" Ecuador`s government for letting its own citizens bring suit against
Chevron.

"Chevron`s current strategy of attempting to demonize the democratically elected
government of Ecuador makes no sense to us and ultimately will prove to be
self-defeating," Doherty warned.

Shelly Alpern, a representative of a private fund in Boston called Trillium
Asset Management, said in reference to Ecuador: "We believe that this is a sad
state of affairs that the [Chevron] Board is so lacking in independence and
accountability."

Luis Yanza, who is leading the effort by 80 indigenous and farmer communities to
hold Chevron accountable in court, emphasized how there is no evidence any top
Chevron manager, Board Member, or corporate officer had visited Ecuador to see
firsthand the enormous damage done by Texaco when it operated a large oil filed
in the country from 1964 to 1990. Yanza invited O`Reilly to visit the area at
his invitation.

O`Reilly at first ignored the invitation, but a few minutes later another
shareholder insisted he answer Yanza. O`Reilly then said he would consider it
and come with an answer within six months.

Also speaking was Ermegildo Criollo, a leader of the Cofan indigenous group in
Ecuador that is facing extinction if the oil damage is not cleaned up. Criollo
explained how the toxic waste discharged by Texaco had decimated the traditional
lifestyle of the Cofan, who now could not use the rainforest and have no access
to clean water.

The lawsuit charges that Texaco (now Chevron) dumped billions of gallons of
toxic waste into Amazon waterways and abandoned over 900 unlined waste pits
carved out of the jungle floor, leading to a spike in cancer rates the
decimation of the traditional lifestyles of indigenous groups.

About the Amazon Defense Coalition

The Amazon Defense Coalition represents dozens of rainforest communities and
five indigenous groups that inhabit Ecuador`s Northern Amazon region. The
mission of the Coalition is to protect the environment and secure social justice
through grass roots organizing, political advocacy, and litigation. Two of its
leaders, Luis Yanza and Pablo Fajardo, are recipients of the prestigious Goldman
Environmental Prize.

for Amazon Defense Coalition
Karen Hinton, 703-798-3109
karen@hintoncommunications.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009