Oil companies receive a lot of bad press, and rightly so sometimes. But under all the media hate the good things which oil firms do get buried too. Good things like Oil and exploration player Hess Corporation donating $3m to a relief fund for those affected by Hurricane Ike.
The hurricane destroyed 49 Gulf platforms when it peaked two weeks ago. That means a lot of people without jobs until repairs can be completed, with knock on effects for contingent firms. “We are deeply concerned for the welfare of the people suffering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Ike in Houston and the Gulf Coast,” said John Hess, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Hess Corporation. “To support the relief efforts in the broader community, we are donating $3 million to the Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund. This fund, created by Houston Mayor Bill White, will help fill the unmet human needs of hurricane victims in Houston, as well as Harris and Galveston counties and other affected areas
As well as the $3m payment, the company is also matching all employee contributions to Ike relief efforts by the American Red Cross, United Way of Houston, the Salvation Army and the Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund.
But to end the article on a bitter note, some of Hess Corporation’s donations may not be as well received. Ten Hess executives and Hess family members each gave $28,500 (the maximum allowed) to the RNC’s committee to elect John Mccain, just days after he reversed his opposition to offshore drilling.
In itself, the donations don’t warrant much attention. But Hess executives were not the only employees donating. Alice Rocchio, a Hess office manager in Queens, and her husband, Pasquale Rocchio, an Amtrak “track foreman,” each separately donated $28,500 to the RNC-McCain fund on the same day as eight of the executives and Hess family members.
Talking Points Memo, a political site, questions the ability of two mid-level employees to donate so much cash when the median household income in the Rocchios’ zip code is $58,069. The Rocchio’s deny any employee pooling or similar wrong doing but the blogosphere remains suspicious. Rumours were further fuelled when TPM found out the Rocchio’s rent their house.
Hess Corporation should be applauded for honestly helping those in need after Ike. But John McCain is probably not one of them.
