by * » Sat Jan 28, 2006 9:55 pm
<br><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20060127/cm_usatoday/citgosgenerosity;_ylt=ArxfzNT5PxK5vMjlcPml.7ms0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3YWFzYnA2BHNlYwM3NDI-">Citgo's Generosity:</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><br> <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>"We were disappointed that USA TODAY chose the day Citgo generously reached out to low-income families in Maine and Vermont with heating oil assistance - a move that was supported by public officials and local editorial writers of all persuasions - to run an unfair front-page profile of the company ("Has Citgo become a political tool for Hugo Chavez?" Cover story, News, Jan. 12).<br><br> Citgo is a century-old American oil refining and marketing company owned by Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), Venezuela's state oil company. When our President Hugo Chavez saw a need to help the United States deal with the impact of hurricanes and energy shortages, he asked PDVSA and Citgo to help. That is the uncomplicated backdrop to the heating oil program.<br><br> There is nothing outrageous about Americans helping their neighbors. The United States does it every day. Venezuelans are proud that PDVSA, Citgo's parent, believes that corporate profits should be shared with the communities and consumers who make the business possible - both in Venezuela and other countries where PDVSA has a presence. Citgo is among the largest refining companies in the USA, and Venezuela is the country's fifth-largest supplier of petroleum - so such a humanitarian gesture is good business, as well.<br><br> At the high point of oil and gas prices, a dozen U.S. senators of both parties appealed to oil companies' "sense of corporate citizenship" to help less fortunate Americans get through the winter in the face of cuts in federal assistance. Citgo did its part. No other oil company has done so. It makes the criticism in the article seem petty.<br><br>Fadi Kabboul, Minister Counselor for Energy Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Washington"</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br><br><br> Go Hugo!<br><br> Buy Citgo!<br><br><br> <p></p><i></i>