Monday, May 04, 2009
Hugo Chávez
To hear the speeches of Hugo Chávez and ex-President George W. Bush, you’d think that the United States and Venezuela were mortal enemies. In fact, while Bush was president, trade between the two nations increased for six straight years.
Since 1988, CITGO, the Houston-based oil company, has been owned by Petróleos de Venezuela, which is owned by the Venezuelan government, which has been controlled since 1999 by Hugo Chávez. At the recent Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, Chávez announced that CITGO would donate Petty’s Island to the state of New Jersey to become an ecological preserve. In addition to ceding land rights to New Jersey, CITGO will also clean the nearly 400-acre island just off the New Jersey coast of the remnants of its petroleum storage facilities and an old oil refinery. In order to ensure future preservation of the island, the Venezuelan oil company will also create a $2 million trust for maintenance of the habitat and will give $1 million to help build an education center on the island.
The maintenance fund is to be left in the hands of the New Jersey Natural Lands Trust, whose board, under pressure to develop Petty’s Island with a golf course, hotel and homes, rejected a similar offer from CITGO in 2004. In January 2009, the board accepted CITGO’s offer to convert the island to a wildlife refuge. New Jersey governor Jon Corzine has stated that he welcomes the donation by the Venezuelan government.
In a press release the Venezuelan embassy stated that the donation represents a commitment of the Venezuelan people to form stronger ties between Venezuela and the United States. This is not the first postive gesture towards U.S. citizens by CITGO.
Since 2005, CITGO has offered a low-cost heating oil program to needy families in the United States. Each winter, CITGO provides millions of gallons of heating oil at a 40% discount to more than 200,000 families in 23 states.
Whether the Venezuelan government has engaged in these charitable acts out of good faith or for political reasons, one wonders why U.S. oil companies have not pursued similar projects. ExxonMobil, for example, reported a profit in 2008 of $45.2 billion, the biggest ever by any American company in any industry.
-Tyler Schenk-Wasson
Citgo Petroleum of Venezuela Donates Island to New Jersey (Associated Press)
Plans set for N.J. to control Petty's Island (by Adrienne Lu, Philadelphia Inquirer)
CITGO Press Release: Donation of Petty's Island (Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela)
Why Can’t Big Oil Match Hugo Chávez? (by Tim Padgett, Time)
Comments