Donations pouring in from fuel companies

Sept. 14, 2001
Reacting to Tuesday’s terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, DC, several of the country’s major fuel marketers and suppliers have already pledged millions of dollars towards the relief efforts. In addition, many of them have already promised truckers and other drivers that price gouging will not take place at the pumps. Chevron Corp. and Texaco Inc. announced today that the companies are
Reacting to Tuesday’s terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, DC, several of the country’s major fuel marketers and suppliers have already pledged millions of dollars towards the relief efforts. In addition, many of them have already promised truckers and other drivers that price gouging will not take place at the pumps.

Chevron Corp. and Texaco Inc. announced today that the companies are each pledging $5 million to the relief effort. Both companies will work with national, state and local relief agencies to distribute the funds where they are needed most.

In a joint statement, Dave O'Reilly, chairman & CEO of Chevron, and Glenn F. Tilton, chairman & CEO of Texaco said, "The scenes we have witnessed surrounding this horrific tragedy cannot come close to approximating the true magnitude of these terrorist attacks. All of us share deep feelings of sympathy for those who lost mothers, fathers, sons or daughters, neighbors, friends or colleagues. We hope this pledge will help in some way with the necessary work that must be done in the coming days, weeks and months."

Chevron and Texaco, which are merging, are also encouraging their employees to consider helping on a personal level, by donating blood or by making a financial contribution to an appropriate relief agency.

Amerada Hess Corp. has pledged $5 million to help the families of New York City firefighters, police officers and other rescue workers who died or were injured helping victims of the attack on the World Trade Center.

"As a company based in New York, we are deeply appreciative of the heroic and courageous efforts of the New York City firefighters, police officers and other rescue workers who have responded to this tragedy,” said John Hess, chairman & CEO of Amerada Hess. “We are acutely aware of the pain and suffering of thousands of families and the extraordinary efforts being made by relief organizations. Our hopes and prayers are with the families of all those affected."

More than 100,000 BP employees in the U.S. and abroad, supported by corporate donations and matching funds, will be making contributions to assist in the recovery efforts in both cities.

An initial $5 million corporate donation will include; $2 million to be donated to an emergency services relief fund called New York City Public/Private Investment, which serves the members and families of police, fire and emergency medical services departments; $2 million in contributions to other organizations responding to the relief efforts; and $1 million to the American Red Cross, which has set up disaster relief and counseling centers in numerous U.S. locations.

The refiner also announced it is donating one-million gallons of to New York emergency services working on disaster relief. BP has been offering free fuel to the effort since Tuesday’s attacks in both cities. For every dollar given by an employee, BP said it will match those funds on a three to one basis.

BP also said it will stick to its word and not increase wholesale and retail gasoline prices, adding it has adequate stocks of fuel for the US market. San Antonio-based refining and marketing companies Valero Energy Corp. and Ultramar Diamond Shamrock Corp. (UDS), through their UDS Foundation, said they will team to contribute $500,000 to the American Red Cross to assist with the massive relief efforts.

"This is a time for Americans to clearly demonstrate that we pull together in times of need," said Bill Greehey, chairman & CEO of Valero. "It's time to show the world that while terrorists may attempt to strike fear in the hearts of Americans, we're not afraid. We should all do our part and show the world what Americans are made of."

"We may be separate companies, but we're absolutely unified in agreeing it's our responsibility to help the thousands of individuals and families who were impacted by this tragedy," said Jean Gaulin, chairman & CEO of UDS, which announced in May it will merge with Valero. "It's critical that we all do our part to support our neighbors.” In addition to the corporate contributions, the two companies are also collecting individual pledges from their employees and conducting food and blood drives.

Houston-based Motiva Enterprises LLC said participating Shell and Texaco stations in the state of New York will donate two cents for every gallon of gasoline sold through the end of September as part of its Pump Pennies Campaign. Participating stations in the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Pennsylvania will donate one cent per gallon to the campaign during that time period.

The funds collected from this campaign will be donated to the American Red Cross of New York to assist victims in New York City.

"The hearts and thoughts of all our employees are with those who are suffering as a result of Tuesday's incident," stated Lee Fry, Northeast region gm, representing the Shell and Texaco brands. "We wish to do our part to help the victims and to show our support."

In addition to the Pump Pennies Campaign, a Texaco station in Jersey City, NJ is providing fuel free of charge to New York Port Authority vehicles, as well as ambulances, fire trucks, police and other emergency vehicles. A Shell station in Landing, NJ is providing water and other supplies to American Red Cross trucks and military vehicles involved in search and rescue efforts.

Tosco Corp., which is located in Old Greenwich, CT, said its Exxon dealer on 2nd Ave. and East 1st St. in Manhattan is donating fuel to assist crews working in the emergency zone of downtown Manhattan. The station owners acted immediately to provide free fuel for relief vehicles, and Tosco continues to supply fuel without charge to assist with the effort. The fuel is being delivered under police escort.

Tosco, which also operates a refinery in the New York area, has offered tugboats to assist in the rescue and cleanup efforts, and members of the facility's rescue squad have volunteered to go to the scene to assist in the search and rescue efforts.

About the Author

Tim Parry

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