Lago Agrio oil field US attorney, Steven Donziger, had used "corrupt means," including payment of almost US$300,000 in bribes, to obtain the 2011 court verdict in Ecuador. The judge did not rule on the underlying issue of environmental damages. While the US ruling does not affect the decision of the court in Ecuador, it has blocked efforts to collect damages from Chevron in US courts. Donziger and the two Ecuadorian defendants appealed, and on August 8, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment against them in all respects. In September 2018, the District of Columbia
Energy policy of Ecuador petrochemical company with a compound currently under development, would allow Ecuador to refine up to 300,000 barrels/day once fully operational. The company is owned by Petroecuador, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, and the China National Petroleum Corporation. The project is estimated to cost $12 billion and return $3 billion/year that would otherwise be spent on refined fuels. It is being constructed in El Aromo, in the coastal province of Manabi. Completion of the refinery would take place in two phases, the first yielding a processing capacity of 200,000 barrels/day and the second adding another 100,000 barrels/day. The necessary access roads and