Chevron Corp. missed an Ecuadorean court deadline Friday requiring it to apologize for oil contamination that indigenous groups say it is responsible for.

The snub was deliberate, as the oil company maintains it has nothing to apologize for. It is currently embroiled in a no-holds-barred legal battle to prevent paying up to $18 billion in damages relating to the activities of Texaco Petroleum Corp., which Chevron acquired in 2001.

The February 2011 judgment that Chevron is now appealing imposed $8.6 billion in damages, plus an additional 10 percent to the plaintiffs, to be doubled if Chevron did not immediately apologize.

Chevron appealed the ruling to Ecuador's intermediate court. The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs last month (Greenwire, Jan. 4).

Although the company has now appealed to the high court in Ecuador, it had until Friday to formally issue an apology and avoid the extra penalty.

Chevron spokesman Kent Robertson said the company has nothing to apologize for.

"Issuance of such an 'apology' would require Chevron to make a false admission of liability for environmental impacts that it did not cause," Robertson said.

Chevron has also accused the plaintiffs of fraud and raised questions about the integrity of the Ecuadorean legal system.

Click here to read the E&E special report on the case.