Citgo's operating chief Edgar Rincon was also withdrawn from Citgo Holding's board as part of the June shakeup. The company is under siege on several fronts. Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro wants to regain control of Citgo under any reconciliation while the U.
Profits have suffered after it lost access to Venezuelan crude. Citgo has revamped management over the last two years. This month, the firm named a new vice president of health, safety and environment and in August appointed a former BP executive as general counsel. All played an important role in streamlining the company's organizational structure.
Throughout the s increasing consumer sophistication and stiff competition provided an impetus for a more creative approach to retail marketing.
Marketing manager Stanley Breitweiser was instrumental in devising a new brand name for Cities Service's retail products. In the age of brand names such as Esso and BP, the brand name Cities Service was considered to be too large a mouthful.
Charles J. Waidelich, who became president in , and Robert V. Sellers, who became chairman and CEO in , guided the company through the turbulent s. War in the Middle East between Israel and its Arab neighbors led to severe oil shortages and steep price increases. The higher prices for oil meant that the cost of offshore exploration was no longer prohibitive, which created the impetus for oil exploration in areas such as the Gulf of Mexico. By Cities Service had become the 19th largest oil company in the United States, but its outlook was not entirely promising.
The early s witnessed an upheaval in the petroleum industry. High exploration costs and a worldwide economic slump led to a rash of mergers and acquisitions. In and the business press was full of rumors concerning the fate of Cities Service. A hostile takeover threat by Mesa Petroleum was rebuffed, while negotiations for a friendly merger with Gulf Oil Corporation came to nothing.
Cities Service's refining and marketing divisions were merged into a subsidiary, known as CITGO Petroleum Corporation and incorporated as such in Southland had pioneered the development of convenience stores with its 7-Eleven outlets. In the company operated 7, 7-Eleven stores in the United States and Canada.
The company hoped to combine gasoline sales and groceries through its 7-Eleven chain, and the CITGO refinery seemed the best way to ensure a free-flowing supply of gasoline for the outlets.
Hall also welcomed the deal, since it secured a steady supply of crude oil and other feedstocks for its Lake Charles refinery. With a more stable supply, CITGO was able to embark on an aggressive expansion program to enhance the value of its brand. In , 3, gasoline outlets carried the CITGO brand name, while by the end of the number had grown to about 10, Sales of gasoline to branded distributors increased 16 percent during alone.
By this time the Lake Charles refinery had a rated capacity of , barrels a day, making it one of the largest such facilities in the United States. Champlin's refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, produced high-grade gasolines, petrochemicals, and other petroleum products, and it also owned eight refined-products terminals, which brought CITGO's total to Seaview's New Jersey refinery produced asphalt, naphtha, and other oils.
Thus, the Seaview and Champlin mergers were in line with the company's expansion strategy. The company continued to grow, and in , with Lyondell Petrochemical Co.
The terms of the joint venture included CITGO's pledge of a large sum of money for the upgrading of Lyondell's Houston refinery in order to increase its capacity for processing heavy crude, the type of oil supplied by PDVSA. In exchange CITGO acquired a minority interest in the company, with the opportunity to increase its interest to 50 percent after the completion of the upgrade.
CITGO made two key pipeline transactions in that paved the way for the company's expansion into the Midwest and central parts of the United States. The aggressive expansion strategies resulted in a record year in Net income jumped 14 percent over the previous year, and CITGO had significant increases in market share. In , according to the industry publication National Petroleum News, the company's share of total U.
Latest in Market Insights. In this list Oil Citgo still in limbo as judge approves sale of Venezuelan holding company's shares.
Not registered? Register Now. Recommended for You. Venezuela's Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said the judicial process is "fraudulent" and aimed at "robbing Venezuelans of their most important asset abroad. The case over Citgo is taking place in Wilmington, Delaware. There, Judge Leonard Stark is ruling in favor of Crystallex.
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