Chevron to contest Ecuadorian $9bn legal claim

An Ecuadorean judge has ordered oil giant Chevron to pay $8.6bn (£5.4bn) damages after ruling it was responsible for oil-drilling contamination in a wide swath of Ecuador's northern jungle from 1972 to 1992. Chevron has called the decision "illegitimate and unenforceable" and said it would appeal.

Chevron said it did not believe the judgment was "enforceable in any court that observes the rule of law".

The trial began in 2003 after almost a decade of legal battles in the US.