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jurisdiction of the Municipality." The parties also expressly agreed that "pursuant to Article
2386 [current Article 2362] of the Civil Code, this settlement shall have for the parties the effect
of res judicata before the highest court." Each settlement agreement represented that the
municipal government had consulted "with the entities and organizations representing the
community of its inhabitants" in order to choose an appropriate reparation project. According to
sworn statements of the relevant government officials, each agreement met "the interests of The
Community and of its citizens as to any claims they may have against TEXPET." All of these
settlements were "approve[ d] ... in full" by Ecuadorian courts because they "d[id] not violate
any legal provision" and "cover[ed] all issues described in the [municipality] complaint[s]."
53. In addition to the national and municipal governments, two Provinces also
settled their potential claims against TexPet in the name of their residents and of the ecosystems
within their respective territories. In 1996, the provincial government of Sucumbfos conferred
"with entities and organizations representing the community of its inhabitants" in order to select
an acceptable reparation project and avoid a potential lawsuit with TexPet. It ultimately
demanded, "according to the interests of the community," that TexPet fund "social interest
works," viz., "provincial eco-production projects." A Consortium of Municipal Mayors in the
Napo Province also endorsed a settlement contract that identified their potential disputes with
TexPet relating to "the oil concession," and, especially, to "the impact or damages possibly
caused to the environment." Like its counterparts in Sucumbfos and at the national level, it
negotiated and settled with TexPet in order to safeguard environmental and communal
entitlements. These agreements with the municipalities and provinces shall be referred to herein
collectively as the "1996 Municipality Releases."
54. Pursuant to the terms of the 1995 Settlement Agreement with Ecuador, TexPet
selected Woodward-Clyde, one of the largest environmental engineering firms in the world at the
time, from a list provided by Ecuador of acceptable contractors to perform the remediation.
Woodward-Clyde conducted additional investigations of the well sites listed in the Scope of
Work and developed a Remedial Action Plan, which identified the specific pits at each well site
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