Posted on 07/12/2006 11:16:15 AM PDT by saganite
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela-owned Citgo Petroleum Corp. has decided to stop distributing gasoline to some 1,800 U.S. stations, shedding a lackluster segment of its business while forcing the owners of those stations to find other suppliers. ADVERTISEMENT
While it may create some logistical headaches for gasoline retailers in the short term, the move should not have any impact on the nation's overall fuel supply.
Citgo, which is wholly owned by Venezuela's state oil company, currently has to purchase 130,000 barrels a day from third parties in order to meet its service contracts at 13,100 stations across the U.S. This is less profitable than selling gasoline directly from its refineries.
Instead, the Houston-based company has decided to sell to retailers only the 750,000 barrels a day that it produces at three U.S. refineries in Lake Charles, La., Corpus Christi, Texas and Lemont, Ill., according to a statement late Tuesday.
That will mean that over the next year Citgo will cease distributing gasoline in 10 states and stop supplying some stations in four additional states, Citgo spokesman Fernando Garay said Wednesday.
Chavez has long claimed that parts of Citgo's business produce losses for Venezuela and constitute a subsidy for the U.S. economy.
Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez has also charged that Citgo isn't profitable enough and that its parent, state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, could at some point sell off some of the company's refineries.
However, in a sign of the apparently lucrative relationship between the two companies, PDVSA announced Wednesday that it has so far earned $400 million in dividends this year from Citgo.
The states where Citgo will stop selling gasoline are: Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and South Dakota. A limited number of stations in Illinois, Texas, Arkansas and Iowa will also be affected.
Venezuela is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and the U.S. is its top buyer. The United States relied on Venezuela for about 11 percent of its oil supply in 2005.
HAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHHAAAAA TOOOOOO DARNED FUNNY!!!!!
I wonder where these refineries are located? Only a fool would buy facilities inside Venezuela. Chavez would simply nationalize them.
Breaking news from the "Cutting off your nose to spite your face" Department.
Nah. According to the article: Citgo, which is wholly owned by Venezuela's state oil company, currently has to purchase 130,000 barrels a day from third parties in order to meet its service contracts at 13,100 stations across the U.S. This is less profitable than selling gasoline directly from its refineries.
So the gasoline is there, available in the market. Instead of Citgo going out into the market and buying in order to supply the stations, it just looks as if the stations will have to find another way to get it themselves.
Maybe they should seize the Citgo assets and sell them to Petro-Canada. The commie reaction to having their assets sold to a formerly state-owned oil company (privatized in the 1980s) would be priceless :-D
They'll buy from independent refiners.
Thanks for the chuckle. I needed that.
Hopefully it will remain cheaper than off-base, like it is now.
I don't think many do.
I got stuck buying it on a return trip from Pensacola this past weekend.
Even though I was lighter by about 300 pounds *and* went about the same speed, I lost about 2mpg compared to the trip up there on Chevron.
There's a reason that the stations were referred to as something very similar-sounding...Schidtgoe, or something like that :>).
Good riddance, Chavez. Go hawk your crappy gas somewhere else.
I guess Hugo never heard of platformate.
Reply if you remember.
He could use a dose of Boron.
Citgo refineries are located in Lemont, Ill., Lake Charles, La., Corpus Christi, Texas, Paulsboro, N.J. and Savannah, Ga.
they need the gas to power Teraasa Kerry's baked bean factory chavez expropriated last year.
AWWW now that's dirty pool! HEHEHEHEHE
I only used Shell gas with 'Platformate' back then. Of course, my Dad was a Shell dealer...
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