Gas BUY-Cott (Citgo)

[Dob Bole]

Of course it's best to use no oil at all, to walk or bike whenever you can. But aparently Citgo oil comes from Venezuela, and benefits the Chavez government's health care programs, etc. Here is the CommonDreams article on the subject:

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0516-25.htm

Buy Your Gas at Citgo: Join the BUY-cott!
by Jeff Cohen

"Looking for an easy way to protest Bush foreign policy week after week? And an easy way to help alleviate global poverty? Buy your gasoline at Citgo stations.

And tell your friends.

Of the top oil producing countries in the world, only one is a democracy with a president who was elected on a platform of using his nation's oil revenue to benefit the poor. The country is Venezuela. The President is Hugo Chavez. Call him "the Anti-Bush."

Citgo is a U.S. refining and marketing firm that is a wholly owned subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company. Money you pay to Citgo goes primarily to Venezuela -- not Saudi Arabia or the Middle East. There are 14,000 Citgo gas stations in the US. (Click here http://www.citgo.com/CITGOLocator/StoreLocator.jsp to find one near you.) By buying your gasoline at Citgo, you are contributing to the billions of dollars that Venezuela's democratic government is using to provide health care, literacy and education, and subsidized food for the majority of Venezuelans."

[blitzen]

1. I just filled up my tank at Citgo...

at a station near my house that I always used to pass by on my way to some Exxon or Shell.

Also to be noted is that Citgo supports the Nature Conservancy.

[AllegroRondo]

2. Citgo in my area is usually 1-2 cents cheaper

makes it easy to shop there.


and they have a nice car wash, too.

[BlueEyedSon]

3. Citgo does buy ME oil, so cool your jets on that boycott.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/saudigas.asp

Apparently Conoco sources their crude from primarily from Mexico, Venezuela & Canada. So add that to your calculus.

Ultimately, oil is a FUNGIBLE commodity (no one's car cares where it comes from: one crude source is as good as another), and as such the "supply and demand" operates across all suppliers and consumers. If you buy any gas, you are a participant in the market.... that makes $$$ for all the sellers you would rather not be supporting (greedy US companies, terror-supporting Sheiks, etc).

[blondeatlast]

5. Conoco/Phillips did merge, am I right?

So we're pretty screwed no matter what?

[blondeatlast]

4. I got this forwarded to me yesterday.

There is a Citgo near my house I used to stop for a donut at, but never for gas.

If I'd known, I would have definitely stopped for gas there.

My next fill-up, and every one after, will be at Citgo.

Edit: I wrote this BEFORE I saw the Snopes citiation. I will let it stand.

[BlueEyedSon]

7. My post was just to point out there is no easy, black-and-white solution

....maybe not anything you can do at all merely by choosing a retailer. Arguably, you should always buy the cheapest product to force competition and limit everyone's profit margin. The only thing that really matters is to use/buy LESS.

All the gas stations buy from everywhere, the middlemen buy from everywhere, and the refiners buy from everywhere. If every consumer suddenly bought only Citgo, their prices (and the price of crude supplied to them) would rise and everyone else's would plummet. So if the boycott was ever big enough to be effective, the resulting market conditions would be unsustainable. Either consumers would break for the much cheaper end product or any/all of the various middlemen would be the "relief valve" for whacked-out pricing (and you would end up buying the "evil" gas, only branded as Citgo - but in reality, you are today anyway!).

[AP]

14. I think CITGO is very different. Royalty income kicks back to the VZ gov't

...and they're using it to alleviate poverty, build schools and hospitals and to innovate. They're not using it to increase the polarization of wealth and political power.

[BlueEyedSon]

17. So this further exacerbates the US trade deficit....?

http://www.americaneconomicalert.org/ticker_home.asp

[AP]

19. Ford is selling record numbers of cars in VZ just due to the fact that the

middle class is expanding because oil profits are building schools and hospitals for the poor.

Long run, the US and the world is better off when there are more nations that reward people who work with wealth rather than wealth with more wealth on the backs of people who work.

I'm not going to buy American oil to help the trade deficit. American oil companies are experiencing record profits, yet they are begging the city of Richmond, CA to tax them even less, and Richmond's schools suck ass, and the whole process is just increasing the polarization of wealth in Ameria and the world, which is not something I'm willing to sacrifice at the altar of US trade defiicits.

[AP]

21. Where have you gone my blue eyed son?

[getmeouttahere]

6. So if we have to buy gas....

and we should be looking for every excuse to walk, ride a bike or if you have one, a train or bus...but if you have to buy gas, go to Citgo.

www.handsoffvenezuela.org

[Ian David]

8. This has already been discussed ad infinitum

Activism & Events forum

Buy Your Gas at Citgo: Join the BUY-cott!
Topic started by katinmn on May-16-05 07:41 PM (29 replies)
Last modified by ehrnst on May-24-05 10:03 AM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=106&topic_id=15994


Want to "Buy Blue"? Visit Co-op America.
Topic started by frankzappa on Nov-08-04 04:15 PM (2 replies)
Last modified by Robeson on Nov-09-04 06:37 AM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=106&topic_id=12587

[BlueEyedSon]

9. Really? Then why do people still think it would work?

:)

[Dora]

10. Citgo on the corner near my home!

Ya-hoo!

Will now top off the tank there, but saving my big fill-ups for Costco.

[Roland99]

11. Snopes says...

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/saudigas.asp

CITGO is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the national oil company of Venezuela, so naturally most of its crude oil comes from there. However, in February 2002 CITGO also imported from Middle Eastern countries in the following quantities:
Iraq: 1,342,000 barrels
Kuwait: 437,000 barrels

Conoco imports primarily from Mexico, Venezuela, and Canada, and not from Middle Eastern countries. However, they are planning to merge with Phillips, which does import from Middle Eastern countries (see below).

BP imports from a variety of oil-producing countries, but in February 2002 BP North America also imported from Middle Eastern countries in the following quantities:

Iraq: 470,000 barrels
Kuwait: 415,000 barrels
Saudi Arabia: 2,123,000 barrels
Algeria: 3,853,000 barrels


Phillips also imports from a variety of oil-producing countries, but in February 2002 Phillips imported from Middle Eastern countries in the following quantities:
Iraq: 717,000 barrels
Saudi Arabia: 1,100,000 barrels


Sinclair imports from Canada, not the Middle East.


Sunoco imports primarily from Canada, Angola, and Nigeria, not Middle Eastern countries.

[Samurai_Writer]

12. Bet they aren't getting any oil from Iraq now...

since production is pretty much dead since the invasion started. So I will definitely keep buying Citgo.

[Roland99]

13. Turkey's not getting anymore either...a shortage is claimed

[AP]

15. For me, as big a part of the equation is what they do with their profits

as it is where the oil comes form.

CITGO profits go towards alleviating polarizations of economic and political power rather than magnifying them.

[Dob Bole]

18. That's pretty much my feeling...

While not buying oil from the Saudis is appealing, even if it isn't true we are supporting the Chavez govt. That's fine with me.

[supernova]

16. I've used Citgo off and on for years

the station near my house is owned by a family we have been friends with for decades.

But Ugh! The guy hunts and the store is filled with stuffed, mounted animals! :P Look over there by the fishing tackle, it's a stuffed fox. Up above the beer case is a 5-point buck head. There's various and sundry stuffed and mounted fish too. :P

[Gruenemann]

20. Another good thing about Citgo!

They don't contribute any money to the rethuglican partei. I was already buying their gas for that reason alone.