The Louisiana Oil and Gas Association is speaking out after a jury awards Plaquemines Parish almost 745-million dollars from Chevron. The jury agreed with the plaintiffs that Texaco’s operations and abandonment of equipment led to land loss. Texaco was bought out by Chevron in 2001.
“Suing somebody for something they didn’t cause — it’s problematic and it’s not good for our industry,” says Mike Moncla, president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association. “It’s not good for anyone.”
Moncla says the state gave Chevron the green light decades ago for oil exploration.
“The state of Louisiana gave them a permit to do so,” notes Moncla. “So the state of Louisiana could have had the foresight to say, ‘Well, you know, maybe we shouldn’t do this because it might ruin our coast.'”
Moncla says Chevron and other oil companies were encouraged to conduct oil exploration off the coast for decades.
“The state has incentivized, encouraged industry to come in and drill during World War II,” says Moncla. “And then almost a century later, you’re talking about going back and suing those companies for what they did and were begged to do.”
Phil Cossich, one of the attorneys that represented Plaquemines Parish, hailed the verdict.
“I think this is a great win for our community,” Cossich said after the verdict was handed down. “It’s been a long time coming. This could be a great step in saving our coast.”
Moncla says the verdict is an industry-killer.
“Companies like my family business with work over barges, there’s nothing else you can do with that except cut them up into scrap and sell them for pennies on the dollar and file bankruptcy for your company,” Moncla says. “Lots of companies had to file bankruptcies because of these coastal lawsuits and what they did to the oil and gas industry.”
Chevron is expected to appeal the jury verdict.
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