Chevron apologises for fatal fracking explosion with free pizza

[DiscoStu]

Chevron has been accused of turning a tragedy into farce, after it tried to make amends for a fatal fracking explosion by offering people pizza.

One of the US energy giant's hydraulic fracturing wells exploded last week in a field just outside the small towns of Bobtown and Dunkard, Pennsylvania, killing a man and starting a fire that burned for four days.

The man was identified from fragments of bone as 27-year-old Ian Mckee, who was working for one of Chevron's contractors, Cameron International. He was engaged to be married and his fiancee was expecting their first child.

Stefan Radwansky, vice-president and general manager at Cameron International, said it was committed to providing for the family, and felt "deeply saddened" by the "devastating" incident.

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However, his sombre words were undercut by the response from Chevron. The oil giant wrote to 100 residents of Bobtown and Dunkard and offered them a voucher for pizza and a two-litre drink, as a "token of appreciation for their patience".

"Chevron recognises 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," it said in a letter accompanying the voucher, which was worth up to $US12.

The gesture met with an angry response from anti-fracking campaigners and on Twitter, where users accused Chevron of turning a tragedy into farce.

"$US20 billion profit and you offer these unfortunate people a slice of pizza? How far removed from human emotion/intelligence/understanding are you?" wrote one user.

Another said: "Yay, free pizza. Once the third-degree burns heal and you can eat solid food again, this will be nice."

But not everyone was affronted. The proprietor of Bobtown Pizza said on Thursday that about 25 to 30 people had already used the offer, and that it was well-received by local residents. "This is just a small town. The explosion was a couple of miles away, in a field. I have had some activists calling me to gripe, but [the pizza offer] wasn't meant that way," he said. "It has been blown way out of proportion."

The Telegraph, London

http://www.theage.com.au/business/world-business/chevron-apologises-for-fatal-fracking-explosion-with-free-pizza-20140221-336kx.html

let's see, vic just passes anti-protest law, feds reduce "green tape" and thus environmental accountability. well, lets just hope agl, santos and et al. have better sense of social responsibility than the US behemoths.....

[Pie'oh'Pah]

---comment deleted---

Edited February 21, 2014 by Pie'oh'Pah

[shortly]

http://www.theage.com.au/business/world-business/chevron-apologises-for-fatal-fracking-explosion-with-free-pizza-20140221-336kx.html

let's see, vic just passes anti-protest law, feds reduce "green tape" and thus environmental accountability. well, lets just hope agl, santos and et al. have better sense of social responsibility than the US behemoths.....

Good luck with that.

I wonder how the states will react to a 90% reduction in real estate values in affected areas, and subsequent stamp duties. You know the stamp duties that were to go as part of the deal that honest john stuck to bring in the Grab Snatch & Take.

[waterboy 2.0]

I hope they offer subway down this way.....It's hard to get a good pizza

[shortly]

I tried subway once, definately don't think it should be used in the same sentence as good pizza.

[bullit]

I will eat any food 4 free???? cooked!!

[Halcyon Daze]

This is to show what human lives really mean to them, -in economic terms.