The legal war against San Ramon, California-based Chevron has been waged in several countries, including Argentina, where the law firm of Bruchou, Fernandez Madero y Lombardi tried to enforce the Ecuadorian judgment, enforcement which was finally rejected by the Supreme Court of Argentina. Now Chevron persuaded a federal appeals court this week to confirm U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan decision of March 2014, barring the enforcement of the Ecuadorian judgment, citing the corruption used to obtain it. The decision block the enforcement in the United States of an $8.65 billion Ecuadorean pollution judgment which the court agreed, was obtained through bribery and fraud. (see http://fortune.com/2016/08/09/chevron-wins-major-ruling-in-8-6-billion-ecuador-pollution-case/).

In March 2014, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan had already barred enforcement of the Ecuadorian judgment in the USA, citing the corruption used to obtain it but claimants hired lawyers in Brazil and Argentina to try to enforce it. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan upheld the lower court ruling against the American lawyer Steven Donziger, who has spent years battling Chevron to hold it responsible for pollution in the Ecuadorean rain forest. "Even innocent clients may not benefit from the fraud of their attorney," Circuit Judge Amalya Kearse wrote for a three-judge panel in a 127-page decision.

R. Hewitt Pate, Chevron's general counsel, said in a statement the decision "leaves no doubt that the Ecuadorean judgment against Chevron is the illegitimate and unenforceable product of misconduct."

FLOTEK INDUSTRIES AND YPF TECHNOLOGIA S.A. SIGN JOINT TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT

HOUSTON and BUENOS AIRES,

July 25, 2016 / Source PRNewswire

Flotek Industries, Inc. signed a five-year joint technology development agreement with YPF Technologia S.A., the technology arm of YPF Sociedad Anonima, the vertically-integrated national energy company of Argentina. Flotek and Y-TEC will jointly work to develop new technologies and new applications of current technologies with a focus on the oil and gas industry as well as industrial applications beyond energy. Flotek and Y-TEC's initial collaboration in the energy space will focus on:

  • The use of customized chemistry to develop "full fluid systems", building from Flotek's patented CnF® and PrF" technology platforms for deployment in both the Vaca Muerta shale and Neuquen tight gas basins.
  • Design and implementation of a YPF-centric data management application emphasizing chemistry.
  • Local supply and production of d-limonene (citrus terpenes) for applications in new and existing wells as well as other industrial and commercial applications.

The Agreement will enable YPF to continue to design more efficient and effective solutions for the development of both conventional and unconventional resources according to YPF sources. Both companies are committed to cutting-edge research and innovations and further supports collaborative efforts that will include the sharing of research personnel and resources across the Americas.

YPF is Argentina's leading energy company, operating a fully integrated oil and gas chain with leading market positions across the domestic upstream and downstream segments. YPF's upstream operations consist of the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and LPG. YPF's downstream operations include the refining, marketing, transportation and distribution of oil and a wide range of petroleum products, petroleum derivatives, petrochemicals, LPG and bio-fuels. Additionally, YPF is active in the gas separation and natural gas distribution sectors both directly and through its investments in several affiliated companies. Headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, YPF is traded on the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange and its American Depositary Shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

YPF NEW ROADMAP TO REVIVE VACA MUERTA

In impeccable English, a legacy of several years of work in Houston, the new CEO of YPF, Ricardo Darre, presented to international investors his plan for the development of Vaca Muerta. The roadmap has five points that seem to lead to a single path: a smaller, more efficient and more focused on businesses YPF to generate short-term gains.

According Darre, YPF must sell those areas that are not the core of its business to channel the resources into Vaca Muerta and the development of other unconventional reservoirs. The first part of the plan is to sell these non-core assets. Market sources and from provincial government confirmed that the state company is negotiating the extension of the concession in twenty areas where it has participation in Neuquen. These are exploration blocks which permits expire in one year and a half and for which the firm under state control aims for investors. According to what The Energy and Mining Investor, the development of a road show is even evaluated to offer the package of assets. It would be a sort of "Houston Plan" of the eighties

CHEVRON INTRODUCED ITS NEW COUNTRY MANAGER

The oil company Chevron announced that Chris Stevens is the new Country Manager of Argentina subsidiary of the firm, responsible for operations in the provinces of Neuquen and Rio Negro as well as the participation of affiliates of Chevron in the joint venture of unconventional exploration in Loma Campana and Narambuena operated by YPF. Prior to this position, Stevens was senior vice president of Chevron Kalimantan Operations, a position he assumed in January 2014. Mr. Stevens was responsible for ensuring the safe and efficient drilling and production of oil and gas participation Chevron in Kalimantan, Indonesia including Deep Water Development (IDD). With 34 years of experience in Chevron, Stevens has 19 years of international career and 15 in the US, where he held various positions in operations, asset development, management of reservoirs and research fields. In addition, internationally, Stevens worked on major development projects in Thailand, Indonesia, Angola and Scotland, and was also planning business manager and operations of Chevron Upstream Europe.

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