Chevron and Their Community Outreach Team Need to Reevaluate Their Standards for ‘Outreach’

Chevron and Their Community Outreach Team Need to Reevaluate Their Standards for ‘Outreach’

By now, most of you have heard about the horrific natural gas well fire and explosion that occurred during the early hours of February 11^th in Dunkard, Pennsylvania. This well fire burned for days, but eventually extinguished itself on Saturday. Unfortunately, the aftermath of this accident gas left one worker injured and recently identified employee, Ian McKee, missing and feared to be dead. Gas well site injuries caused by negligence have become more and more common.

For Chevron, a titan in the natural gas business, this is a public relations nightmare. How does a corporation begin to do damage control in a situation like this? Well, obviously, not using the method that Chevron chose. It has been reported that on February 16^th the Chevron Community Outreach Team delivered letters to one hundred homes residing around the explosion. In the correspondence provided to these families, Chevron states: "Chevron recognizes the effect this has had on the community. We value being a responsible member of this community and will continue to strive to achieve incident-free operations. We are committed to taking action to safeguard our neighbors, our employees, our contractors and the environment." And what action did they take to safeguard their neighbors? Chevron included with their letter a coupon for a free large combo pizza and a 2-liter beverage from Bobtown Pizza.

It seems to me that Chevron and their Community Outreach Team need to reevaluate their standards for "outreach." In their minds, a free pizza certainly outweighs the fear and outrage that comes from living next to an exploding gas well. Oh no, wait, I forgot! They included a free 2-liter with that offer. When you keep that in mind, I guess their efforts don't seem insensitive or inconsiderate to the members of the Dunkard community now.