HOUSTON — In the last few days, the general public has been inundated with inaccurate and misleading information about CITGO Petroleum Corporation.
The most recent example was how CITGO’s decision to allow its supply agreement with 7-Eleven to expire at the end of September was misrepresented as a reaction by7-Eleven to the remarks recently made by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. In reality, a final decision about the contract was made about three months ago, upon mutual agreement after many months of deliberation. The 7-Eleven contract did not fit within CITGO’s strategy to balance its sales volumes with its own refinery production. Moreover, both 7-Elevenand CITGO had informed the media of the decision long before the U.N. speech.
There have also been calls for a boycott of CITGO products, ignoring the implications that such an action would have on American businesses and the general public. These calls—which run counter to the principles of a free-market economy, so cherished by all Americans—are being pushed in search of political or economic gain.
The following facts clearly demonstrate CITGO’s commitment to U.S. consumers and the energy market:
CITGO is incorporated in the United States and is, therefore, a U.S. company, extremely proud of a heritage that goes back nearly a century.
CITGO was purchased by Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) in 1990, giving the company access to the largest crude oil reserves in the Western Hemisphere.
Venezuela has been a reliable supplier of crude oil and refined products to the U.S. market throughout the years.
CITGO’s policy includes maintaining and strengthening our relationship with our customers, in order to ensure that we continue to provide quality energy products that benefit the U.S. consumer. This is in alignment with the global energy policy of our parent company.
While CITGO is a major Venezuelan investment in the United States, several American oil and gas companies either have significant investments in Venezuela or purchase Venezuelan crude oil to satisfy the needs of their customers. This list includes Chevron Texaco, Conoco Phillips, Valero and others.
CITGO has approximately 4,000 employees in the United States and, through a network of more than 13,000independently owned retail locations, CITGO indirectly employs roughly another 100,000 people who work hard everyday to help their neighbors get where they w ant to go.
Many of these dealers selected CITGO because of the fact that our crude oil supply comes from our own hemisphere and that is precisely one of our key strengths. Most of our competitors, on the other hand, buy their oil from countries where ongoing conflicts pose a tangible threat to security of supply.
CITGO is committed to safe and environmentally responsible operations and the company will be investing$1.2 billion in this key area in the coming years.
CITGO is proud to sponsor many important activities in the communities where we do business:
After hurricanes Katrina and Rita, our employees in many locations spent countless hours volunteering to help and our company donated in excess of two million dollars. At the time, we also were instrumental in ensuring extra cargoes of gasoline from our parent company—roughly totaling one million barrels—to alleviate fuel shortages in the United States. CITGO’s efforts in this area have be en recognized by several U.S. government officials.
CITGO relaunched its heating oil program this past Sept. 21st. and plans to distribute 100 million gallons of heating oil at a 40 percent discount in 18 states. This will potentially benefit 1.2 million people, including members of more than 200 Native American tribes.
CITGO recently donated five million dollars to expand the Southwest Louisiana Center for Health Services (SWLA) in Lake Charles, which serves the uninsured and other people in need.
CITGO is the largest corporate sponsor of the Muscular Dystrophy Association and we are proud of our 21-year relationship with this organization, to which weave contributed more than $83 million.
When taking all these facts into account, it is clear that CITGO remains committed to its employees, customers, marketing and retail partners and the general public throughout the United States.
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