hot lubuk ku

Quito  - US oil giant Chevron Wednesday rejected as "illegitimate and unenforceable" an Ecuadoran court ruling upholding an order for it to pay billions of dollars for environmental damages to the Amazon.

The ruling is "as illegitimate and unenforceable today as it was when it was issued," company spokesman James Craig said in an email.

Ecuador's Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a lower court decision against Chevron but dramatically reduced the amount to be paid in damages from $19 billion to $9.51 billion.

Chevron has never worked directly in Ecuador but inherited the pollution lawsuit when it acquired former rival Texaco in 2001. Texaco operated in the South American nation from 1964-1990.

The original ruling against Chevron was made in 2011, with a fine of $9 billion imposed. That amount was later doubled when the US oil giant did not apologize.

While Ecuador's high court invalidated the latter ruling, it ordered Chevron to pay the group that is representing the Ecuadoran farmers and activists who originally launched the suit.

Chevron insists that Ecuador's state oil company Petroecuador is to blame.

Juan Pablo Saenz, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, said the decision would help their cases in other countries where they are seeking restitution from Chevron.

The oil giant has almost no assets in Ecuador, which is why the plaintiffs are pursuing it in other countries.

Just last month, Chevron was in court in New York trying to keep the plaintiffs from using the US courts to force Chevron to pay from its US operation.

The case could have implications for lawsuits in Canada and Brazil, where the plaintiffs are going after Chevron's assets.

In November 2012, a judge in Argentina ordered a freezing of Chevron's assets, but a higher court overturned the decision.

Thousands of Ecuadoran villagers say they were sickened and many have cancer as a result of the oil pollution of their water supply.

Commentators say the case could help to determine the extent to which US courts can pass judgment on alleged misconduct of American multinationals abroad.

In the US District Court in New York, Chevron is alleging fraud and violations under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Even reduced by half, the fine imposed on Chevron would be one of the largest ever levied in the history of environmental law.

British energy giant BP reached a record $4.5 billion deal with the US government to settle criminal charges linked to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, and a $7.8 billion settlement with people and businesses affected.

In September, Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa, who is often critical of the United States, called for a global boycott of Chevron, accusing the company of being behind "one of the biggest environmental disasters in the world."