You can't keep up with the activities at Chevron
In agreeing to its towel-tossing settlement, Chevron has promised to pay $20 million to the U.S. Attorney's office, $5 million to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, $2 million to the Treasury Department, and $3 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company will thereby avoid facing criminal charges but could still face prosecution for criminal tax violations.
The charges against Chevron, which were brought under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, involved the possibility that, in 2001 and 2002, the company paid surcharges to Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization in connection with oil obtained under the United Nations-sponsored oil-for-food program. Chevron has neither confirmed nor denied the allegations. Indeed, it said one of its traders, who is no longer with the company, either knew or should have known about the alleged kickbacks.
Chevron thus joins a disparate group of companies, including oil and gas producer El Paso
Chevron's current overseas involvement runs from fending off criticism of its environmental record in Kazakhstan, to developing a sour-gas field in China's Sichuan province, and on to a big new natural gas project in Australia.
But as ExxonMobil
So, while the need to operate in a variety of international locations expands almost daily for the West's big energy producers, that need clearly comes with baggage. It's one of several handfuls of reasons that I continue to urge my Foolish friends to approach the energy portion of their investment portfolios with tender loving care.
To drill down on related Foolishness: