Everything about Chevrontexaco totally explained
Chevron Corporation is the world's fifth largest global
energy company. Headquartered in
San Ramon, California,
USA and active in more than 180 countries, it's engaged in every aspect of the
oil and
gas industry, including
exploration and
production;
refining, marketing and transport; chemicals manufacturing and sales; and
power generation. Chevron is one of the world's six "
supermajor" oil companies.
History
Chevron was originally known as
Standard Oil of California, or Socal, and was formed amid the
antitrust breakup of
Standard Oil in 1911. It was one of the
"Seven Sisters" that dominated the world oil industry during the early 20th century. In 1933,
Saudi Arabia granted Socal a concession to find oil, which finally occurred in 1938 when the largest oil field on earth was discovered. Socal's subsidiary California-Arabian Standard Oil Company evolved over the years, becoming the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO) in 1944. In 1973, the Saudi government began buying into ARAMCO. By 1980, the company was entirely owned by the Saudis and in 1988, the name was changed to Saudi Arabian Oil Company (
Saudi Aramco).
In
1984, the merger between Chevron and
Gulf Oil became the largest merger in world history at the time. Because of its size, Gulf divested many of its worldwide operating subsidiaries and sold some Gulf stations and a refinery in the eastern United States to satisfy US antitrust requirements. As part of the merger, Socal rebranded to become
Chevron Corporation.
In June 1998
Dynegy Inc. was created from the merger of Chevron's former natural gas and natural gas liquids businesses with Dynegy's predecessor, NGC Corp. (formerly ). NGC had been an integrated natural gas services company around since 1994.
In a merger completed
February 1,
2000, Illinova Corp. (formerly ) became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dynegy Inc., in which Chevron also took a 28% stake.
On
May 9,
2005, ChevronTexaco announced it would drop the Texaco
moniker and return to the Chevron name. Texaco will remain as a brand under the Chevron Corporation. On
August 19,
2005, Chevron merged with the
Unocal Corporation, a move which, because of Unocal's large South East Asian geothermal operations, made Chevron the largest producer of
geothermal energy in the world.
Overview
Chevron employs approximately 59,000 people worldwide (of which 27,000 are U.S.-based) and had approximately 12 billion barrels (1.9 km³) of oil-equivalent net proved reserves at
December 31,
2003. Daily production in
2003 was 2.5 million net oil-equivalent barrels (400,000 m³) per day. In addition, the company had a global refining capacity at year-end
2003 of 2.2 million barrels (350,000 m³) of
crude oil per day. The company has a worldwide marketing network in 84 countries with approximately 24,000 retail sites, including those of affiliate companies. The company also has interests in 13
power generating assets in the
United States,
Asia, and
Europe. Chevron also has gas stations in
Western Canada.
The company marked its 125th anniversary in
2004, tracing its roots to an
oil discovery at Pico Canyon, north of Los Angeles. This find led to the formation, in
1879, of the Pacific Coast Oil Company, the predecessor of Chevron Corporation. Another side of the genealogical chart points to the
1901 founding of The Texas Fuel Company, a modest enterprise that started out in three rooms of a corrugated iron building in
Beaumont, Texas. This company would later become known as
Texaco.
Chevron was headquartered in
San Francisco for nearly a century before it relocated its headquarters across the
bay to
San Ramon CA. Chevron's headquarters buildings at 555 and 575
Market Street, built in the mid-1960s, in San Francisco were sold in December 1999.
(External Link
) Its original headquarters were at 200 Bush St., built in 1912.
(External Link)
Chevron is the owner of the
Standard Oil trademark in a 16-state area of the western and southeastern United States. To maintain ownership of the mark, the company owns and operates one Standard-branded Chevron station in each state of its area.
(External Link) Chevron also is currently the owner of the trademark rights to Texaco brand gasoline. Texaco fuels are now supplied by Chevron's network of wholesalers.
Chevron is the only brand of gas used by several automakers when testing vehicles, including
General Motors and
Toyota. (
Ford does as well despite a strategic alliance with
BP.) Chevron also has often had one of the highest brand loyalty rates for gasoline in America, with only
Shell and BP (through
Amoco) having equally high rates.
Chevron Shipping Company is a wholly owned subsidiary company which handles the maritime transport operation for Chevron Corporation. The fleet comprises crude oil and product tankers as well as three gas tankers operated by Chevron Shipping for other companies. The fleet is divided into two sections:
The
US fleet transports oil products from Chevron
refineries to customers in the US. The ships are manned by US citizens and are flagged in the US. The International fleet vessels are flagged in the
Bahamas and have officers and crews from many different nations. The largest ships are 308,000 tonne
VLCCs. The job of the international fleet is to transport crude oil from the oilfields to the refineries. The international fleet mans two
LPG tankers and one
LNG tanker.
Chevron ships originally had names beginning with "Chevron", such as the Chevron Washington and Chevron South America, or were named after former or serving Directors of the company. Samuel Ginn, William E Crain and most notably
Condoleezza Rice were amongst those honored, but controversy led to its being renamed Altair Voyager. All the ships were renamed in 2001 to reflect the corporate merger with
Texaco. The International fleet ships are all named after celestial bodies or constellations (Orion Voyager, Altair Voyager etc) and the US ships are named after states (Washington Voyager, Colorado Voyager etc).
Energy technologies
The company also develops, and commercializes advanced energy technologies, including
fuel cells,
photovoltaics, and advanced batteries, and has said it's active in research and development efforts to utilize
hydrogen as a
fuel for
transport and
power.
Chevron is investing $300M
USD a year into alternative fuel sources, and has created a biofuels business unit.
Environmental record
Companies in the
petroleum-based energy industry generally draw a wide range of criticism, and are often referred to as
Big Oil. Because of the inelasticity of the demand of petroleum and the high risk nature of operations abroad, the companies involved in the industry have been accused of playing a large role in influencing economic and
foreign policies in nations across the globe. Some criticism is directed at the industry in general, in that the burning of fossil fuels contributes to
air pollution and
global warming, and that extractive operations spoil natural landscapes. Large energy companies are often suspected of resisting
alternative energy, for example buying patents to new technological advances to stop more energy efficient modes of transport.
Chevron Corporation in particular is allegedly responsible for severe ecological destruction. Texaco, which became part of Chevron in 2001, dumped over 18 billion gallons of toxic wastewater into the Amazon rainforests from 1964-1992, in what has become known as the “rainforest Chernobyl,” and is often considered one of the world’s worst ecological catastrophes. Various Ecuadorian groups have sued Chevron for its activities, arguing it purposefully misrepresented its activities in the rainforest. Chevron’s attorneys maintain they're being victimized by profit-seeking plaintiffs.
The lawsuit is led by
Pablo Fajardo, who recently won a CNN Heroes award for his work. Pablo Fajardo and Luis Yanza were also awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for their work in this case, the most prestigious environmental prize in the world. In April 2008, a court-appointed expert submitted a report to the judge in the Ecuadorian trial recommending that Chevron be held liable for damages between $7 billion and $16 billion. The larger estimate reflects an "unjust enrichment" penalty based on the finding that Texaco saved approximately $8.3 billion by using substandard environmental controls.
A separate lawsuit was dismissed from US courts when it was found that "they [theplaintiffs] revealed in depositions that they didn't actually have cancer, or that the family members they said had cancer actually did not." Cristobal Bonifaz, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs, was later fined $45,000 for his involvement in the falsified claims. Bonifaz had previously been fired from the plaintiffs' legal team in the larger Ecuadorian case for unethical conduct.
In the U.S., Chevron’s activities in
Richmond, California have been the subject of ongoing controversy. Chevron’s Richmond operations house over 11 million pounds of toxic materials, and have been responsible for over 304 accidents. For illegally bypassing wastewater treatments and failing to notify the public about toxic releases, Chevron’s Richmond refineries were forced to pay $540,000 in 1998. Overall, Chevron is responsible for ninety-five
Superfund sites—locations for which the EPA has earmarked funds for cleanup. In October, 2003, the state of
New Hampshire sued Chevron and other oil companies for using MTBE, a gasoline additive that the attorney general claimed polluted much of the state's water supply.
Chevron’s African operations have also been criticized as environmentally unsound. In 2002,
Angola became the first African nation to ever fine a major multinational corporation operating in its own waters when it demanded 2 million dollars in compensation for oil spills allegedly caused by Chevron’s poor maintenance.
On October 16, 2003, Chevron U.S.A. Inc. resolved a Clean Air Act settlement, which reduced harmful air emissions by about 10,000 tons a year. In San Francisco, Chevron was filed by a consent decree to spend almost $275 million to install and utilize innovative technology to reduce nitrogen and sulfur dioxide emissions at its refineries. After violating the Clean Air Act at an offline loading terminal in El Segundo, California, Chevron paid a $6 million penalty as well as $1 million for environmental improvement projects. Chevron also had implemented programs that minimized production of hazardous gases, upgraded its leak detection and repair practices, reduced emissions from its sulfur recovery plants and adopted strategies to ensure the proper handling of harmful benzene wastes at each refinery. Chevron also spent about $500,000 to install leakless valves and double-sealed pumps at its El Segundo refinery, which could prevent significant emissions of air contaminants.
Defenders of Chevron’s environmental record point to recent changes in the corporation, particularly its pledge, as of 2004, to combat
global warming.
Abuse and Death of Nigerian Protesters
On May 28, 1998, as
activists were staging a demonstration on an oil platform in the
Niger Delta,
Nigeria, Nigerian police and soldiers, instead of Chevron representatives (as the activists expected), were flown in with Chevron helicopters. Soldiers shot at the activists and subsequently two activists (Jola Ogungbeje and Aroleka Irowaninu) died from their wounds
(External Link). Chevron describes the situation as "a violent occupation of private property by aggressors seeking to extort cash payments from the company." The Nigerian government is reportedly 80% dependent upon oil production and is condemned by many for its reported
(External Link) treatment of environmentalists. The documentary "
Drilling and Killing" covers these and other topics.
U.S. District Judge
Susan Illston, allowing a lawsuit brought by victims and victims' families against Chevron to proceed, said that there's evidence that Chevron has hired, supervised, and provided transportation to Nigerian military forces known for their "general history of committing abuses."
(External Link) In March 2008, the plaintiffs' lawyers, without explanation, "quietly moved to withdraw half of their claims" against Chevron.
Accusations of irresponsibility
Chevron has been accused of not fulfilling its community responsibilities in
Cabinda, Angola. Chevron's employees work in isolation in the
Malongo terminal, which is protected by barbed wire fence and guarded gates because of security concerns. Most of the groceries and other commodities are imported duty free from overseas, limiting the economic impact on local markets. In a survey Cabindans expressed their concern that the multi-billion dollar oil industy hasn't improved their daily lives.
(External Link)
In
2003, it was revealed that the company had engaged in illegal trade with
Iraq and had to pay a $14,000 fine to the US government.
New Policy and Development
Chevron has taken steps to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and to pursue cleaner forms of energy. Chevron invests in alternative energy sources and has set targets for reducing its own emissions, and has scored highest among U.S. oil companies for this.
Board of Directors
As of April 2007
(External Link):
» *
David J. O'Reilly (Chairman & CEO)
*
Samual Armacost » *
Linnet F. Deily
*
Robert Denham » *
Robert Eaton
*
Sam Ginn » *
Franklyn Jenifer
*
Sam Nunn » *
Donald Rice
*
Peter Robertson » *
Charles Shoemate
*
Ronald Sugar » *
Carl Ware
Condoleezza Rice is a former member of the board of directors, and also headed Chevron's committee on public policy until she resigned on January 15, 2001, to become National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush.
Marketing Brands
Fuel
Convenience Stores
Star Mart
Extra Mile (External Link)
Lubricants
Delo (sold by Caltex and Chevron)
Havoline (sold by Caltex and Texaco)
Revtex (sold by Caltex)
Ursa (sold by Texaco)
Fuel Additives
Techron - Chevron, Texaco (phased in during 2005), Caltex (phased in during 2006 and later)
Clean System 3 - Texaco (phased out during 2005 in favor of Techron)Further Information
Get more info on 'Chevrontexaco'.
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