Kazakhstan
Chevron was the first major foreign oil company to secure operations in Kazakhstan in 1993, and has since become the country's largest private oil producer as a result of its investments at the Tengiz and Karachaganak fields.
At both the Tengiz and Karachaganak fields, surrounding populations have suffered greatly from an unprecedented variety of illnesses upon development of the fields, including respiratory illnesses, blood illnesses, cardiovascular illnesses and high levels of stillborn babies, all of which medical specialists have determined to be directly related to the oil industry.
In 2009, the villagers received a continuance from Kazakhstan's Supreme Court in the first ever case against the government of Kazakhstan brought by a nongovernmental organization. The case, which states the government has failed to ensure the safety of Kazakhstani citizens by forcing them to live in an environmentally toxic area, has been under review by the court system for more than a year and a half; meanwhile Berezovka's residents continue to breathe Karachaganak's toxic air.
More information on Chevron in Kazakhstan can be found in the Alternative Annual Report
