MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chilean court upholds contamination fine on Shell Oil company

A Chilean court this week upheld a decision fining Shell Oil Company US$676,000 for contaminating beaches three years ago in the northern Chilean city of Antofagasta.

The fine stemmed from a petroleum leakage by a Shell storage facility in April, 2005. At that time, the Antofagasta Maritime Authority issued an alert that fuel was seeping into the waters of Playa de Petroleros, where the Shell plant has been operating since 1998. The SEC, Chile's electricity and fuel regulatory body, subsequently conducted an investigation which uncovered several safety violations by the oil giant: • Lack of proper precautions in the operation of pipelines used for the loading and unloading of diesel fuel. • Insufficient oversight of underground pipelines. • Failure to meet requirements that all underground pipelines and equipment have anti-corrosion protections. • Lack of diligence in required inspection and maintenance of pipelines used for loading and unloading of fuel. The SEC imposed the fine in December, 2005, but Shell appealed to Chile's Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. Both courts upheld the fine, as originally levied by the SEC. "The courts' recent decision to uphold the fines not only supports the SEC's actions in this instance," the SEC said in a statement issued Wednesday. "It also demonstrates the ongoing need for companies to take seriously the safety measures we have in place regarding electricity and fuels." Notwithstanding the SEC victory, the fine amounts to little more than a slap on the wrist for Shell, whose second-quarter earnings this year totaled 7.9 billion US dollars, up from 7.6 billion in the same period last year. Shell officials in Santiago declined to comment on the matter Wednesday. The Santiago Times