Boycott Middle Eastern oil-Truth! & Fiction!

Boycott The Oil Companies Buying Middle Eastern Oil and We'll Stop Funding Terrorism and Keep the Gas Prices down-Truth! & Fiction!

Summary of the eRumor
This message lists several oil companies and how much Middle Eastern oil they buy.
It encourages us to stop buying from the companies that buy from the Middle East because that will reduce the support of terrorism.
It also suggests that in May of 2001, there was a successful grass-roots effort to drive down gas prices by boycotting certain companies.

The Truth
There are several issues in this eRumor.

First, does the purchase of Middle Eastern oil help terrorism.
There are varying voices on that.
Some say that since Osama Bin Laden's family made its money mostly from construction and that Bin Laden has been estranged from the family for quite a while, there isn't any direct link.
Others say that oil purchased from countries like Iraq goes directly toward support of terrorism and that profits for other countries, such as Saudi Arabia, indirectly aid terrorism because of wealthy Saudis who are said to help finance people like Osama Bin Laden.

Second, what oil companies buy Middle Eastern oil?

We were able to secure the statistics from the U.S. Department of Energy for various oil companies for calendar Year 2000:

Shell purchased 3,611,000 barrels from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia
BP purchased none from the Middle East.
Chevron purchased 14,724,000 from the Middle East.
Citgo-None from the Middle East.
Amoco purchased 3,611,000 barrels from the Middle East.
Exxon-Mobil combined purchased 13,273,000 barrels from the Middle East.
Marathon purchased 10,710,000 in Middle Eastern oil.
Sunoco purchased none from the Middle East.
Conoco purchased 523,000 from the Middle East.
Sinclair-We didn't find any figures.
Phillips-We didn't find any Middle Eastern purchases.

Third, was there a successful boycott in 2001?
Not really.
There have been several emails circulated from time to time that encourage a day or a week of avoiding buying gas, but there's never been any evidence that we're aware of that they had had any impact on gas prices.

There is one version of this eRumor that adopts some information from another popular eRumor and claims that gas is projected to rise to $3 per gallon by the summer of 2002. The Energy Department forecast, however, is for a high of $1.60 per gallon. We have not found any forecasts for $3 per gallon.

Last updated 3/23/03

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

Yisrael Medad of the Begin Center sent the following information. Every time you fill up the car, you can avoid putting more money into the coffers of Saudi Arabia. Just buy from gas companies that don't import their oil from the Saudis.

Nothing is more frustrating than the feeling that every time I fill-up the tank, I am sending my money to people who are trying to kill me, my family, and my friends. I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil companies are the best to buy gas from. Major companies that import Middle Eastern oil (for the period 9/1/00 -8/31/01).

Shell 205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco 144,332,000 barrels
Exxon/Mobil 130,082,000 barrels
Marathon 117,740,000 barrels
Amoco 62,231,000 barrels

If you do the math at $30/barrel, these imports amount to over $18 BILLION!

Here are some large companies that do not import Middle Eastern oil:

Citgo 0 barrels
Sunoco 0
Conoco 0
Sinclair 0
BP/Phillips 0

All of this information is available from the Department of Energy and can be easily documented. Refineries located in the U.S. are required to state where they get their oil and how much they are importing. They report on a monthly basis.

Keep this list in your car; share it with friends. Stop paying for terrorism

DO YOU REMEMBER LAST MAY, WHEN GAS PRICES WERE THREATENING TO GO TO $2.00 PER GALLON. I ACTUALLY PAID $2.05 PER GALLON IN OHIO. WELL, THEY ARE TRYING TO DO IT AGAIN. WE E-MAILED EVERYONE IN OUR ADDRESS BOOKS, AND ASKED EVERYONE ELSE TO DO THE SAME. WITHIN DAYS, AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE GOT THE MESSAGE, AND GUESS WHAT? MYSTERIOUSLY, GAS PRICES WENT DOWN.

ECONOMICS - JUST BUY FROM THE OTHER FOUR OR FIVE COMPANIES WHO DON'T BUY OIL FROM THE MODEST TERRORIST SUPPORTING COUNTRIES. THEN WE DO BUY FROM THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES WHO DO NOT BUY MID EAST OIL.

Citgo 0 barrels
Sunoco 0
Conoco 0
Sinclair 0
BP/Phillips 0

IT IS YOUR MONEY! SPEND IT WISELY! JUST SAY NO TO MID EASTERN COUNTRIES WHO SUPPORT TERRORISM!

WE SENT THIS OUT MAY OF 2001. AND IT WORKED!!! We need to do whatever we can, and do it NOW!!!!

PLEASE HOLD OUT UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO BELOW $1.28 - $1.29 AND KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS CAN REALLY WORK!

If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention

UNITED WE STAND!!! ~ AMERICAN ECONOMICS IN ACTION!!!~