Citgo keeps commitment in the US

Citgo Petroleum Corporation, the US refining branch of Venezuelan state oil firm Pdvsa, Monday claimed it "acts responsibly and remains committed to its employees, customers, marketing and retail partners and the general public throughout the United States."

In full-page advertisements published in US newspapers, Citgo CEO Félix Rodríguez, asserted that "consumers in the United States have been inundated with inaccurate and misleading information about Citgo Petroleum Corporation," Efe quoted.

In mid-September, the US media highlighted the expiration of an agreement under which Citgo sold fuel at 7-Eleven retail stores throughout the United States.

The contract expired last September 30 and, according to the advertisements Citgo published on Monday, both Citgo and 7-Eleven had had informed the media of the decision.

However, the termination of the agreement "was misrepresented as a reaction by 7-Eleven to the remarks recently made by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the United Nations."

A few days before widespread media coverage of the agreement termination, Chávez described his US counterpart George W. Bush as "devil."

"As a corporation, we cannot always the environment where we are operating, but we do feel compelled to clarify these things out of respect for our US employees, partners, customers and consumers," Rodríguez added.

"Our first commitment to them remains unchanged: the responsible supply of quality energy products the US market needs."

Rodríguez added that Citgo has a direct refining capacity of 861,000 bpd in five refineries in the United States. Including Citgo stake in other three refineries, "the total contribution to the US energy market is 1.2 million bpd."