All oil companies dread the prospect of environmental litigation, but it appears some may go to greater lengths to avoid it than others. In a bizarre twist to a recent case, more than 150 boxes of documents possibly containing sensitive information about environmental damage have been found buried in the New Mexico desert.

These files may include records of oil spill remediation efforts, soil contamination reports, groundwater level studies and other documents relating to the day-to-day operation of a nearby oil pipeline.

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The files were dug up after a former employee of the Texas-New Mexico Pipeline Company, a subsidiary of Shell Oil Company, gave information to lawyers investigating an oil spill in the area. Half a dozen bulldozers and diggers were used to search for the missing files, excavating a two-acre site to a depth of 40 feet.

The pipeline in question was sold by Shell to Enron in 1999 and is now owned by Houston-based EOTT Energy. Local residents are pursuing legal action against EOTT Energy, claiming their water supply was contaminated by a massive oil spill from the pipeline in the early 1990s. EOTT has in turn brought litigation against Shell on the basis that it was not responsible for the pipeline during that time, nor aware of any environmental damage in the area.

Shell spokesperson Bianca Ruakere told fDi: “At this stage, Shell has no information linking these files to ongoing litigation.”

In a written statement, Shell said: “ This activity could pertain to current litigation between EOTT and the Texas-New Mexico Pipeline Company. It is our policy not to comment on current litigation. It’s our understanding, based on limited access to the materials unearthed in New Mexico, that this material is mostly every-day office refuse and stale data that was past its useful business life.”

The whistle-blower whose information led to the discovery of the files claims to have been present when the boxes were buried. However, reports on the date on which the files were buried vary. According to one source, the documents may have been buried in 1999, just before Shell sold the pipeline to Enron. Other reports suggest they were buried as late as 2001.

So far there has been no proof whether or not the documents were buried surreptitiously. If they were, a criminal investigation may follow.

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