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November 21, 2005

New heating oil assistance coming to Boston

Energy giant CITGO plans to announce on Tuesday that it will provide discounted heating oil to several U.S. cities as part of a heating assistance program. The company will start the program in Boston tomorrow, after holding talks with Massachusetts legislators.

The company said it would provide "millions of gallons" of discounted heating oil for Massachusetts low-income residents and institutions that serve them. CITGO is a subsidiary of Venezuela's state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).

...It is our duty to act as good corporate citizens and help those in need as circumstances allow. -- Felix Rodriguez, CITGO president and CEO

It did not say where else the program will be offered.

But a spokesman for Sen. Jack Reed said today the senator's office held a conference call with CITGO and the Rhode Island Oil Heat Institute on Friday to discuss the possibility of bringing discounted oil to Rhode Island. Nothing definite has been worked out, said the spokesman, Greg McCarthy. The Oil Heat Institute is a trade organization representing oil dealers in the state.

Reed wrote a letter last month to the heads of several oil companies, asking them to donate 10 percent of their profits to heating assistance programs. CITGO was the only one to respond, McCarthy said.

"CITGO Petroleum Corporation agrees with you, your colleagues and the national leadership of the country, that it is our duty to act as good corporate citizens and help those in need as circumstances allow,'' wrote Felix Rodriguez, CITGO's president and CEO.

He adds: "We are aiming to help low-income Americans not just this winter, but beyond that. We are studying potential plans for ongoing, sustained assistance programs in the United States with the goal of lifting our neighbors in need to an improved quality of life."

The letter didn't include any specifics, but Rodriguez closed by saying he desired to meeting with Reed and his colleagues "to further discuss the details of this initiative."

Posted by Tim Barmann at November 21, 2005 4:45 PM

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