Chevron Tries A New PR Trick: Free Pizza to Neighbors of Exploded Gas Well

picture-14309-1371183830.jpg
onFeb 18, 2014 @ 15:31 PST

Chevron is known for responding aggresively to anyone who tries to hold the company accountable. The creativity the company applies to evading responsibility for its messes is arguably unparalleled.

Even still, Chevron’s latest PR move, after one of itsย natural gas pipelines exploded and burned for five days in southwestern Pennsylvania, is probably the first time free pizza was involved.

When the city of Richmond, CA sued Chevron for damages related to an explosion at one of the company’s refineries in 2012, a Chevron spokesman responded by attacking the city’s โ€œfailed leadership.โ€

When 30,000 Indigenous and rural Ecuadoreans won a $9bn judgement against Chevron in compensation for the decades-worth of oil pollution the company left in their Amazonian home, Chevron pulled every dirty legal trick in the book, including filing racketeering charges against the plaintiffs, to delay justice.

So what did the residents of Bobtown, PA get if they were concerned about the massive column of flame and toxic fallout from Chevron’s natural gas pipeline explosion? Aside from a pretty standard apology letter, they got a coupon for a free pizza (โ€œspecial combo only,โ€ per the coupon itself, so don’t even think about getting extra toppings you moochers) and two-liter soft drink.

Philly.com calls it: โ€œThe Chevron Guarantee: Our well won’t explodeโ€ฆor your pizza is free!โ€

It’s probably best if I just let the late-night comedians take it fromย hereโ€ฆ

picture-14309-1371183830.jpg
Mike Gaworecki is a San Francisco-based journalist who writes about energy, climate, and forest issues for DeSmogBlog and Mongabay.com. His writing has appeared on BillMoyers.com, Alternet, Treehugger, Change.org, Huffington Post, and more. He is also a novelist whose debut โ€œThe Mysticistโ€ came out via FreemadeSF inย 2014.

Related Posts

onNov 28, 2025 @ 03:02 PST

The Labour peer called for new coal power in the Global Warming Policy Foundationโ€™s annual lecture.

The Labour peer called for new coal power in the Global Warming Policy Foundationโ€™s annual lecture.
Opinion
onNov 27, 2025 @ 06:38 PST

Blunt communication is our firewall.

Blunt communication is our firewall.
onNov 25, 2025 @ 22:00 PST

The programme is โ€œyet another bung to industrial productionโ€, experts say.

The programme is โ€œyet another bung to industrial productionโ€, experts say.
Analysis
onNov 24, 2025 @ 09:00 PST

Critics say new LNG ventures in British Columbia saddle Indigenous communities with debt, opaque ownership structures, and financial risk that could leave them owing billions.

Critics say new LNG ventures in British Columbia saddle Indigenous communities with debt, opaque ownership structures, and financial risk that could leave them owing billions.