SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Plaintiffs in the Ecuador
pollution case against Chevron Corp (CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will get to
question the man they call the “ringleader” of a sting
operation that is key to Chevron’s efforts to avoid paying a
massive judgment.

The deposition of Diego Borja will be the first chance for
the plaintiffs to use the same kind of U.S. legal device
extensively used by the oil company in building its extortion
case against them. [ID:nN01133100]

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – No one close to the Chevron Corp pollution lawsuit in Ecuador expects to see a quick resolution, even after a much-anticipated ruling on Monday that follows 17 years of litigation.

An Ecuadorean judge ordered the U.S. oil company to pay $8 billion in damages in a case brought by plaintiffs who accused Texaco, bought by Chevron in 2001, of damaging the forest and their health after two decades of drilling.

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 11 (Reuters) – Transocean Ltd (RIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
(RIGN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world’s largest rig contractor, has abandoned
efforts to overcome a Swiss challenge against its 2010 $1
billion dividend payout, while setting out plans for another.

Transocean said on Friday it decided to stay last month’s
appeal to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court over December’s lower
court decision that blocked its payout to shareholders and it
would now ask shareholders to vote on rescinding that payment.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – International arbitrators ordered Ecuador to suspend enforcement of any judgment against Chevron Corp in its marathon rainforest pollution case, representing an important win for the U.S. oil company.

The order, dated February 9 and posted on Chevron’s website, came a day after a New York judge issued a temporary restraining order against the Ecuadorean plaintiffs to stop them going outside the United States to seek enforcement of any court ruling against the company.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Ensco Plc’s (ESV.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) takeover of Pride International Inc (PDE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) sets the stage for cash-raising moves by struggling Gulf of Mexico drillers and deprives acquisitive giant Seadrill Ltd (SDRL.OL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) of its most likely prey.

Seahawk Drilling Inc (HAWK.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), an operator of older shallow-water rigs that was spun off by Pride in 2009, is gasping under heavy losses now that no new drilling permits are being issued in the Gulf of Mexico, where it has the second-largest fleet after Hercules Offshore Inc (HERO.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 7 (Reuters) – Ensco Plc (ESV.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
plans to buy rival Pride International Inc (PDE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for about
$7.3 billion in a deal that would create the world’s
second-largest offshore oil and gas driller.

The deal announced on Monday sets the purchase price for
Pride’s shares at $41.60 each, a premium of 21 percent to
Friday’s closing price, and would give Ensco a major presence
in the growing deepwater markets off Brazil and west Africa.

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Ensco Plc (ESV.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) plans to buy rival Pride International Inc (PDE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for about $7.3 billion in a deal that would create the world’s second-largest offshore oil and gas driller.

The deal announced on Monday sets the purchase price for Pride’s shares at $41.60 each, a premium of 21 percent to Friday’s closing price, and would give Ensco a major presence in the growing deepwater markets off Brazil and west Africa.

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Plans for dozens of new
offshore rigs fired up investors in National Oilwell Varco Inc
(NOV.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), and Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is adding another
rig to its fleet, as both companies posted better-than-expected
earnings.

National Oilwell, the largest U.S. drilling equipment
supplier, sees the rigs as part of a broader trend for offshore
drillers, who are retooling after a few decades of relying on
older technology, Chief Financial Officer Clay Williams said.

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 1 (Reuters) – Chevron Corp (CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) filed
a civil racketeering lawsuit against Ecuadorean plaintiffs in
U.S. court on Tuesday, opening up another legal front in its
17-year-old battle over pollution claims in the South American
country.

A week after plaintiffs submitted final arguments in the
Ecuadorean court, Chevron filed a U.S. lawsuit against them,
their lawyers and various supporters in both countries under
the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Chevron Corp’s quarterly profit easily topped Wall Street forecasts, but anemic growth in oil reserves disappointed investors, and its shares slipped 1.4 percent.

Like smaller rivals ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum, Chevron’s earnings were lifted by oil prices.