I’m positively shocked, shocked I tell you! I’m sure the following allegations of criminal activity by one of the largest multinational companies in the world are completely unfounded:
AUSTIN — Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson called on the state’s powerful oil regulatory agency Tuesday to open hearings into allegations that Irving-based Exxon Mobil Corp. improperly plugged and sabotaged oil wells in a South Texas county after failed negotiations to reduce royalty payments.
Patterson said the alleged violations could possibly result in more than $1 billion in administrative fees to the state from the nation’s largest oil company. But Exxon Mobil said in a statement that the Republican official’s allegations are “groundless” and “paint a false and misleading picture” of its involvement in the Refugio County wells.
And here I thought Exxon Mobil had all Texas Republican politicians in their vest pocket. Wonder why Mr. Jerry Patterson decided to go against the flow? Oh, wait, here’s a possible explanation. There’s other rich folks involved. Well bust my britches if this doesn’t read like an episode from Dallas (link to the show provided for our younger members at the Trib):
The case stems from a legal dispute between Exxon Mobil and the O’Connor family, a South Texas dynasty whose roots date to the Texas Republic. The family owns thousands of acres of oil-rich land in Refugio County.
In the early 1950s, Humble Oil and Refining Co., an Exxon Mobil predecessor, negotiated an oil lease with the family, ultimately drilling 121 wells that produced at least 15 million barrels of oil and more than 65 billion cubic feet of gas, resulting in royalty payments of at least $43 million, according to court documents.
But in the early 1970s, Exxon Mobil sought to negotiate a lower royalty because the profitability was declining. After the negotiations failed, the family entered into another lease with a company now known as Emerald Oil & Gas.
The family alleges that when Emerald attempted to reopen the abandoned wells, workers discovered that the well bores had been plugged and sabotaged with oilfield junk such as cut well casings and contaminated oil tank sludge. The family also alleged that Exxon Mobil sought to cover up the sabotage with misleading reports filed with the Railroad Commission.
Emerald and the royalty owners filed suit in 1996, accusing Exxon Mobil of intentionally sabotaging the field. A trial court ordered Exxon Mobil to pay $18.6 million to the plaintiffs. That ruling was upheld by an appeals court, but the Texas Supreme Court overturned the rulings in what Patterson called a statute of limitations technicality, effectively saying the O’Connor family had waited too long to file its grievances.
I knew somehow this wasn’t being done by Mr. Patterson in the public interest. We all know how Republicans hate public anything, now don’t we? But private interests? That’s a whole ‘nother shootin’ match. This sounds like legalized extortion to me by the O’Connor family. Pay us what we want and we’ll call off our dog (that’s you Mr. Patterson). Of course, I could have this all wrong.
Nah.
To the greater point, it’s about controlling the flow of oil. On a short-term basis oil companies shut down refineries for maintenance at times that will drive up prices, or during seasonal periods of greater gas usage. On the international basis taking Iraq off-line, first by the Clinton embargo and then by the war, served the purpose of pushing up oil prices worldwide. The whole war in Afghanistan has been part of a strategy of getting Central Asian oil, and it’s going on since the fracture of the Soviet Union. Who knows? Maybe since Jimmy Carter and the CIA funding of the Saudi nutjobs.
At the micro end of this, oil companies will cheat, steal and screw the smaller owners of those pools of oil. As to whether the O’Connors are the bad guys, it’s all relative.
Nothing personal, just business. Well not really.
This is a vendetta. Obviously Exxon had bought off more judges on the Texas Supreme Court than the O’Connor’s could have. So their judgment against Exxon in the lower courts got thrown out. I’ll bet most smaller land holders just took the crumbs (i.e., lower royalty payments) offered them, but the O’Connors, being Texas aristocrats, thought those rules didn’t apply to them. When they found out that even they couldn’t stand up to Exxon, they found a politician willing to carry their water and bust Exxon’s balls some more. They’re used to getting their way in Texas, but then so is Exxon.
But on the bigger issue, of course you’re right. We used to send the marines to Central America to protect American corporate interests, and now we send them to Southwest Asia. As Smedley Butler said, it’s a racket.
Geez,, whom do I root for in this Texas petrol battle: the evil Exxon with all its strangling tentacles of power or the O’Connor aristocrats who won’t take no for an answer? Perhaps, I’ll just stay neutral and quietly observe that out of such a fight a lot of truth might emerge.
The O’Connor’s. By ruining those wells, Exxon destroyed natural resources.
…after a long, expensive process that drains both entities.
As a native and present Texan, let me tell you, sir, that our public officials work only for the public good, and your insinuation that this one is operating in collusion with a friend and/or donor is beneath contempt!
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to wash my pig’s wings and join a conference call with Santa and the Easter Bunny. Good day!
The Lone Star State is starting to sound a lot like New Jersey.
Most states are like New Jersey, in that way.
Except they don’t have Bruce Springsteen.
and they seem to be getting caught a lot lately. they just copped a plea in denver:
Exxon-Mobil Pleads Guilty to Killing Migratory Birds in Five States
life was so much
easierbetter under BushCo™.