Citgo to Stop Selling Gas to U.S. Stations

[CountAllVotes]

Wednesday July 12, 12:31 pm ET
Venezuela-Owned Citgo to Stop Selling Gasoline to Hundreds of U.S. Stations

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.

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.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060712/venezuela_citgo.html?.v=3

:dem:

[Judi Lynn]

1. Sorry to hear this as a customer, but it may make a lot of sense.

More from the article:

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.
(snip)

No doubt _Bush would find a way to destroy this operation, anyway, if given enough time.

[rodeodance]

5. wi not affected at this time.

[redqueen]

7. I hope that doesn't affect my area...

guess I'll have to wait and see.

Darn... I only buy Citgo gas.

[1932]

48. If you buy from a CITGO-branded station, it won't affect you.

They are going to stop selling to independent stations who do not brand themselves as CITGOs.

I think 7-11s are considered CITGO-branded.

[Ghost Dog]

18. Yeah, looks like nothing more, and with regrets,

than a sound apolitical business-economics decision.

Meanwhile, Citgo continues to help out the less-well-off with home fuel bills in certain areas, is that right? (or was that limited-period only heating-fuel in the winter? - if not, fill tanks now!).

[Terran1212]

27. There goes the ONE major station where you can buy gas

and have the money not go to some fascist dictator.

[Maat]

35. I buy it out here in Cali.

I'm sorry to hear I won't be able to do that anymore.

Oooh .. on edit ... guess I'll still be able to buy it.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

47. 1800 / 13100 = 13.7% decrease in number of stations

So relax, there's a big chance "your" station is still Citgo.

The headline makes it appear as if Citgo is abandoning the US altogether. I'm sure it was just sloppy writing. :sarcasm:

[chiffon]

2. not good news at all.

I only buy Citgo or Costco gasoline and avoid Exxon, BP, Chevron, Shell, and Mobil.

Not good at all.

[rodeodance]

6. me too

[CountAllVotes]

8. They don't sell Citgo where I live

However, if they did, I would buy it from them. I don't buy from Exxon, Shell or BP either. I've been boycotting Exxon and Shell for many years and my boycott of them will continue regardless of what happens.

However, this is not good news at all.

It makes me extremely sad to see how badly relations have become between the USA and the rest of the world. It is even sadder that we, the people that live here seem to have no voice that is heard.

:dem:

[Polemicist]

37. Retail Gasoline supplies are 100% fungible...

When you purchase gas from a retail station, there is very little chance that it is gasoline produced directly by the retailer's brand. All our nation's gasoline supplies are intermingled in transportation pipelines. All the regional gasoline distributors get the same intermingled gasoline, Exxon, Shell, etc. What differentiates their retail gasoline, is the additives they put in the gas after it is delivered to regional storage tanks by pipeline.

In other words, you can't avoid purchasing Exxon refined gasoline. You will get some Exxon gas, even at a Citgo station.

What the deal likely is, with this distribution for Citgo, is they can draw from pipelines amounts of gas equal to what they contribute from their refineries, without extra cost. So it is cheaper for them to only sell at retail, the amount of gasoline their refineries are producing. If they sell more than this, they gotta buy it from Shell, Exxon, etc. and pay a mark up.

That being said, I will still purchase gas from a Citgo station, given the option. My opinion is why give the fascists at Exxon the extra 10 or 20 cents per gallon they get for the retail mark up? But I know that Exxon produced gas will still end up in my tank and there's nothing I can do about it.

Except not drive or get an electric car.

[CountAllVotes]

42. actually that is not true

Where I live all of the gasoline comes from the same place - south of me by about 350 miles. They don't refine Exxon there but they do refine Shell oil there.

My mother cared for a young boy before she married in 1950. He was killed in an accident at the Shell Oil refinery where the oil that comes to where I live is from after getting out of the Vietnam war in one piece. For this reason, I boycott Shell Oil and I always will.

As for Exxon - there aren't many Exxon station here either and I would never buy it from one of their stations because of the Exxon Valdez "incident". :puke:

[RebelOne]

3. Fortunately for me, Georgia is not affected.

[Festivito]

39. nor Michigan, thank goodness. /nt

[Rose Siding]

4. No! We only buy Citgo

:(

[Rose Siding]

11. Whew, it doesn't include WA. Here's the list of states affected

"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."

I wonder about the political implications. Is Chavez making some kind of squeeze play? There are some blue states on that list, so that's not it.

[me b zola]

43. Good, it doesn't affect us

We live in Oregon but drive over the boarder into WA to buy CITGO. Going about 3 miles out of our way and paying sales tax (which we don't do in Oregon) is a minor inconvience to avoid giving our $$ to Exon.

[zreosumgame]

9. and Exxon goes WHOOP!

another excuse to raise prices and gouge us even more...

[Ian David]

10. I ONLY get my gasoline at Citgo and Hess Stations!

Now what am I gonna do?

[Rose Siding]

12. There's a list of states affected in the article

MA isn't affected.

[Ian David]

13. Looks like we don't need to worry for about year. But Also buy from Hess!

<snip>

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.

<snip>

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.

More:
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060712/venezuela_citgo.html?.v=3

So, it looks like I'm okay here in Massachusetts?

In any case, if you can't get gas from Citgo, then get it from Hess:


Prodigy: Blue Gasoline at Amerada Hess

Posted by conversion on February 3, 2005 - 7:01pm

In the seventeenth century, a strange and unique marvel was known as a prodigy. In the nineteenth century, such curiosities were called rarees. In the twenty-first century, such a wonder may come to be known as a hess. Yes, we have found that one thing which none of us thought existed: a blue oil & gas company. And not just a pale, marginal blue, but a 98.1% solid primary blue: Amerada Hess and their retail outlets, Hess Express convenience stores.

Amerada Hess is an independent energy company, engaged in the production of crude oil and natural gas, refining, and the marketing of refined petroleum products, natural gas, and electricity. No surprise there. But their Chairman and CEO, John B. Hess, and his wife donated over $150,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, MoveOn, and host of individual Democratic candidates ranging from Howard Dean and Hillary Clinton to Betty Castor and Barak Obama during the 2003-2004 election cycle. And the company's "blueness" does not stop with political patronage.

Amerada Hess has a Social Responsibility Policy which extends well beyond some corporate document churned out for the benefit of guilty-minded shareholders. They have long-standing commitments to act responsibly towards human rights, labor, and social issues wherever they've operated and are much more environmentally conscious than your standard oil company. They have, for example, voluntarily established air emission targets for greenhouse gases and other criteria pollutants and have formed a subsidiary, Hess Microgen, which develops cogeneration units and energy systems which run on methane derived from livestock facilities. They also subsidize Nuvera, a leading company in the development of fuel cells and other alternate forms of energy.

Their Social Responsibility Policy, however, is not confined to company performance. Amerada Hess has partnered with Earthwatch in the UK, for example, to create thirty fellowships for secondary school teachers to take part in environmental research projects. They have funded libraries, schools, and hospitals in Equatorial Guinea, St. Lucia, and the Virgin Islands. They have provided disaster relief in Algeria, Jakarta, and Colombia - and provided $5 million to the families of victims of the World Trade Center attack. They support the UN Declaration of Human Rights and became a signatory to the UN Global Compact in 2002, a voluntary initiative to incorporate human rights, and labor and environmental principles into standard corporate practice. Further, Hess adheres to an affirmative action policy and was among the first companies to include sexual orientation among their equal opportunity commitments.

More:
http://www.buyblue.org/node/33

[DinahMoeHum]

17. Is it coincidental that Hess and Citgo have lower gas prices???

at least in New York and Connecticut?

:shrug:

[Up2Late]

20. Thanks for that, I didn't know that about Hess...

...Unfortunatly, the only Hess stations I know of are on the other side of the Atlanta Metro from me, but I'll start looking for them.

[AndyTiedye]

14. Oh Well

Sounds like what little Citgo gas has been available in California
was being purchased from third-parties anyway.

No Citgo stations near me, anyway.


At least this doesn't need any gas at all,
and the car behind it doesn't need much.

[WePurrsevere]

15. Cool bike! It looks so interesting. We see them up here now & then & have

wondered why someone would prefer those over the traditional style. All we can figure is it's because the back is well supported. Would you mind enlightening us please? B-)

TIA :)

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

19. better back support...

& more effecient use of the hamstring.

[AndyTiedye]

22. It is a Recumbent Bicycle. They are Comfortable and Fast

The seat is actually something a human being would want to sit in,
not something they might use at Abu Ghraib.

Mine is a Calfee Stiletto. http://www.calfeedesign.com/stiletto.htm
It is particularly well-suited for climbing hills due to its frame
geometry and light weight.

The main reason that you don't see more recumbents is that the UCF
banned them from its bicycle races years ago. 99.99% of bicycle
riders never race, but racing still drives the market.

With a fully-enclosing fairing, recumbents are the fastest human-powered
vehicles in existance. Freddy Markham just set a new record covering over
53 miles in an hour on level ground.

One of the best places on the net to find out more about recumbents is:
http://www.bentrideronline.com/

[Straight Shooter]

24. Thank you for this info on the recumbent bike.

I live in Eastern Oregon, and see these bikes from time to time. Didn't realize they had such good speed and were good for hills, too. I hate bending over handlebars. Next year it's time for me to get a new bike. This is a good place to start. It also seems to be a good bike if you're going to have a dog run along beside you? (Although not too fast; I wouldn't do that.)

Thanks again. :hi:

[AndyTiedye]

28. As With Any Other Bike, Go For Light Weight if You Climb Lots of Hills

Some remcumbents are quite heavy, and those would not be so good on hills.

Low-speed handling is important too, since you probably won't be going that fast uphill.

Low gearing is needed, but that is easy to change on any bike.

[WePurrsevere]

26. Thank you for the info. With all the hills around here & it's being

comfortable it sounds like it might be worth looking into for my husband who wants to get back into riding a bike for exercise and enjoyment.. not to mention quick rides into town for milk and such rather then taking the car.

I'll pass along the links to him. Thanks again. B-)

[WePurrsevere]

16. Good.. it looks like NY is okay for now as well. We prefer to buy Citgo

gas or from one of the NA owned stations on the nearby Reservation if we're over that way.

[w4rma]

21. So they are going to stick to selling their own oil and gas only.

Simpler, but probably not buisness smart. If you have retail outlets and can get a product, even at a lower profit because your normal supplies aren't enough, then you should sell that product at the lower profit margin. Money is money even at a lower rate.

In fact, it would probably make good buisness sense to expand the buying and selling of oil side of Citgo.

[Tempest]

25. It is very business smart

All companies dump under-performing segments of their business.

It frees up resources to develop or invest in higher performing segments.

This is a smart move on Citgo's part, and most likely long overdue.

[w4rma]

29. Dumping under-performing is fine, but dumping profitable buisnesses

that are just making less money than other parts, isn't so smart, imho.

A profit is a profit no matter what the rate of profit is.

[Tempest]

40. Under-performing also includes profitable segments

Every business plan includes a desireable profit margin. If the margin isn't being met, even if a profit is being generated, the business or segment is considered to be under-performing.

You're wrong, a profit is not a profit no matter what the rate of profit is.

You've obviously never opened a business or worked as an executive. I, on the other hand, have.


For example, IBM sold its hardware divsion despite the fact it was profitable. The reason IBM sold the division was because the profit margin was small and they wanted to free up resources to concentrate on its services division. There's hundreds of thousands of these kinds of examples.

Would you continue to keep a stock earning $1 a share dividend, or would you dump it and invest in a stock earning $2 a share dividend if both were guaranteed? Both are profitable to you, but one is more profitable than the other.

[IA_Seth]

41. exactly...

It's like staying in a job paying $12/hour when you can quit and work a job for a guaranteed $25/hour....sure, a profit is a profit, but you have limited resources (in this case, time) and you might as well make the most of it.

[MGKrebs]

46. If I can jump in here...

I think the difference is the amount of risk. If you already have a profitable business, how much risk are you willing to assume in order to trade it for something more profitable?

Presumably they have done a cost/benefit, but I think w4's point is that there is risk in getting rid of something you know is OK for something you may not know. After all, dumping more cash into a more profitable segment is no guarantee that money will be equally as profitable too whether due to market saturation, talent dilution, overextended resources, or whatever.

The old "bird in the hand" parable.

[Roland99]

23. Citgo was typically the higher-priced station around here.

Can't see this affecting my area much.

[KansDem]

30. So what's the alternative?

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 Indiana will also be affected.

Where do I go now? :(

[eggbeater]

31. put your zip in here.

http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx

citgo is not the cheapest anyway.

[KansDem]

32. Thanks!

And welcome to DU!!!
:hi:

[eggbeater]

34. thanks for the welcome

Ill try to behave.. sorta.

anyway, I use that gas finding site a couple times a week.
The price of bushco's oil,,, um, I mean the price of fuel lately has been killing me.
I drive a truck for my job that gets 13mph tops.
My cars get 30 and 19 around town.
not going to mention the boat, brings tears to my eyes, besides I have not had it out yet this year due to the fuel.

I do what I can to conserve by combining trips, making sure I get things I need when I pass a store etc... but it still is cramping my budget.

And before you ask, the truck I need to work, the cars were good mileage in the day and I cant afford to replace them at this time.-

[MGKrebs]

33. Interesting tidbit about Hess.

"It is true that Hess has little or no dealings with Middle Eastern countries, as their exploration and production activities take place primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Algeria, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Brazil and Colombia. "

http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/hess.asp

[northzax]

44. what a lovely group of countries

let's see, you can pay the corruption in Indonesia, the monarchy in Thailand, the narcolords in Columbia, the dictatorsip in Azerbaijan, Equitorial Guinea and Gabon...what a mess.

[Ilsa]

36. Since I'm close to Corpus Christi, I may still be able to

give CITGO most of my business.

[Bamboo]

38. Strange Activity in Florida

Citgo ran out of regular gas for a couple days one week ago in Tampa,I went to a few local stations and all regular pumps were covered with bags.A news story said they had some problem with an inspection that held up distribution at the Port of Tampa.I have never heard anything like that ever before as well as news stories explaining the shortage.The lawn service companies are fueling up with diesel early in the morning at Citgo and Tampa has lots of Citgo billboards in Spanish.

Seems like the gas supply is back to normal.For a month Citgo has advertised on talk radio pushing non-gas related items sold inside.People spend less inside as gas increases outside.Racetrak stations had a coffee mug swap promotion,I got one and never went back.

Gas is delivered here by tanker.They go under the Skyway bridge,the bridge was under-engineered and was showing cracks in the main hollow pillars.They were filled with concrete but who knows what will happen to the rest during a hurricane.A bridge project stopped here recently when pillars were sinking hope they do a better job with the nuclear power plants.

[northzax]

45. station owners make most of their profit

from the stores, not the gas. something like 3-5 cents a gallon. at $3 gas, that's not much of a profit margin. but they make .50 on every pack of cigarettes, a buck on a soda, that's where the money is!