In a perfect world, we’d all commute on electric buses and do our errands by bicycle or on foot. Meanwhile, however, many of us have no choice but to drive, so we face the same dilemma: Where should an environmentalist gas up?

It’s a tough decision, because the world’s oil companies are often in the top ranks of corporate polluters, backers of despots, and deniers of global warming. The multi-trillion-dollar oil and gas industry is one of the largest enterprises on Earth, so its practices have immense consequences. The products that are its lifeblood affect the environment at every stage, from drilling rig to tanker to refinery to gas station to combustion in your engine, whence they disperse to pollute the air and warm the planet. The only benign petroleum is the stuff that’s still in the ground.

That said, the environmental and human-rights records of the oil giants are far from uniform. Some companies have cleaner refining operations and fewer oil spills, while others treat indigenous people more fairly or make greater efforts to develop energy alternatives. When looking at a company’s record (especially its “green initiatives”), keep a critical eye on the context. Do oil companies hype minimal environmental achievements? Chevron does (and it’s not alone). In a 1996 advertisement, for example, the company celebrated a bird sanctuary for the endangered Hawaiian stilt “in the heart” of one of its Oahu refineries. In reality, the “sanctuary” is a catchment pond mandated by law to help control damage in the event of a major oil spill. Some companies also try to improve their good-citizen images by making voluntary human-rights or environmental pledges, which look great on an annual report but are not enforceable.

Analyzing the oil industry is further complicated by its labyrinthine organization. Some companies—BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, Texaco, Chevron, Phillips Petroleum, and Conoco—are “integrated” oil and gas operations, involved at every stage from exploration to refining to marketing to transportation. Others—CITGO, Tosco, Ultramar Diamond Shamrock, and Sunoco—focus solely on refining and marketing. (Some, like Gulf, Occidental, and Unocal, are dedicated to exploration and production. Because of their minimal roadside presence, we chose not to include them in our report.)

As in a charm contest between cigarette makers, there may not be a winner for Best Oil Company. If the inevitable trade-offs are too unsavory, there’s a simple solution—leave the car at home. When that’s impossible, the company profiles here can help you make an informed choice when you head for the gas pump.

Research assistance by John S. Lawrence

Notes on profiles

Black Marks: These are alleged or proven cases of environmental and human-rights abuse. Note that the “Dirty Four” companies seeking to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have recently limited their lobbying in the face of public opposition.

Refining record: Environmental Defense used Toxic Release Inventory data from 1997 to rank U.S. refineries based on the amount of air pollution they create per barrel of oil processed. (See www.edf.org/programs/ PPA/cg/ or/or_rankings.html for an executive summary or to order the full report.)

Each black smokestack indicates that the company has one refinery in the worst 20 percent.

Each green smokestack  stands for one refinery in the best 15 percent.

Stance on global warming: This section notes a company’s current or previous membership in one of two organizations. The first, the Global Climate Coalition, is an industry group that works to undermine support for the Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 pact in which industrialized nations agreed to reduce their emissions of heat-trapping pollutants. (After a number of defections, the GCC closed its doors to individual companies in 2000 and reconfigured itself as an alliance of trade associations, thereby attempting to lessen the stigma attached to membership.) Alternatively, the Business Environmental Leadership Council accepts the reality of climate change and endorses the Kyoto process. However, its focus on emission-trading schemes is opposed by the Sierra Club.

Green initiatives: Decide for yourself whether these environmental overtures balance the companies’ overall records. Considering a corporation’s annual revenues (listed here for 2000) helps put its charitable donations in perspective.

BP 

The most common brand on the U.S. market, BP has 17,300 gasoline outlets nationwide and $148 billion in sales. The former British Petroleum purchased Amoco in December 1998, then bought Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) and its am/pm convenience stores in April 2000.

Black marks: BP is one of the “Dirty Four” companies seeking to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (The others are ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Phillips Petroleum.) BP is already the largest oil interest on Alaska’s North Slope. In 1999 BP was fined $22 million in civil and criminal penalties for illegally dumping hazardous waste there. Environmentalists fear further damage from BP’s new offshore Northstar field, which relies on an undersea pipeline in the Beaufort Sea. In 1990, BP was responsible for a 400,000-gallon spill off Huntington Beach, the second-largest in California history. Internationally, BP has drawn criticism for its operations in Venezuela (see CITGO entry) and Colombia, where it has been accused of complicity in human-rights violations committed by the Colombian military, which provides security for its Casanare pipeline project in the Andes foothills. (For more information, see the U.S. Public Interest Research Group report, “Green Words, Dirty Deeds.”)

When BP acquired ARCO, it also acquired that company’s bad karma: ARCO‘s offshore oil operations in Burma provided over $55 million to the military dictatorship from the oil company’s entry into the country in 1995 to its 1998 withdrawal. Explosions or fires at ARCO facilities have killed 35 people since 1987.

Refining record: Of the ten BP, Amoco, and ARCO refineries Environmental Defense evaluated, one ranked in the bottom 20 percent. In a January 2001 deal with the EPA and the Department of Justice, BP agreed to spend $600 million modernizing its pollution-control technologies and work practices and to pay a $10 million penalty for past violations of federal clean-air laws at eight refineries across the country.

Stance on global warming: BP and Amoco joined the Global Climate Coalition separately, then left after their merger. The new BP then adopted a greener stance, joined the Business Environmental Leadership Council, and offered its support of the Kyoto accord. BP’s group chief executive, Sir John Browne, endorsed the precautionary principle on global warming in 1997; the following year he committed to a 10 percent reduction of the company’s CO2 emissions by 2010. ARCO remained in the Global Climate Coalition until the group ceased accepting memberships from individual companies.

Green initiatives: BP cultivates a reputation as a progressive oil company, touting conversations with Amnesty International about human-rights issues associated with oil exploration, working with the World Wildlife Fund to preserve biodiversity in Bolivia and China, and developing low-sulfur gasoline to be sold in 40 of the world’s most polluted cities. In 1999, BP bought Solarex for $45 million, making it the largest solar company in the world, and announced plans to install solar panels on 200 gas stations. (Its solar subsidiary still accounts for scarcely 0.1 percent of its revenue, however.) ARC0 is a participant in the California Fuel Cell Partnership, which aims to produce 70 fuel-cell passenger cars and buses between 2000 and 2003.

EXXONMOBIL 

When Exxon and Mobil merged in November 1999, it created the largest private oil company in the world. The new megacorporation has 15,913 U.S. outlets, $233 billion in sales, and the top spot on the Fortune 500 list. ExxonMobil sells gas under its own name and operates the On the Run chain of convenience stores.

Black marks: Exxon infamously refuses to pay $5 billion in punitive damages ordered by an Alaska court after the 1989 Valdez tanker oil spill. The company spent $2.2 billion on cleanup but never took responsibility for the accident. Exxon has since developed a reputation as one of the industry’s most outspoken opponents of stronger environmental regulations. The company also spilled more than 500,000 gallons near Staten Island, New York, in January 1990. Fines levied against it include: $4.7 million for nearly 200 violations of the Clean Air Act, as cited by the EPA in 1998; $4.8 million in damages (along with Tosco) in August 1998 for discharging carcinogenic selenium into the San Francisco Bay.

ExxonMobil is one of the “Dirty Four” seeking to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In March, ExxonMobil suspended production at the Arun gas fields in Aceh, Indonesia, citing increased violence by separatist groups. Active in the country for 30 years, Mobil has been dogged by controversy over how much it knew about the Indonesian military’s violent counterinsurgency campaign.

The merged company’s 25-year, $3.5 billion project to build a pipeline from landlocked Chad to the Atlantic coast of Cameroon would cut through the rainforest home of indigenous communities. (For more information, see www.sierraclub.org/human-rights/chadcam/index.asp.)

Refining record: Of the nine Exxon and Mobil refineries Environmental Defense evaluated, Exxon had two refineries in the bottom 20 percent and Mobil had one. Stance on global warming: Both Exxon and Mobil belonged to the Global Climate Coalition. ExxonMobil chairman and CEO Lee R. Raymond still insists that there’s “uncertainty” over whether global warming is created by human activity or natural causes, and Exxon has contributed financially (along with Chevron) to public-relations efforts that promote the work of climate-science skeptics. Environmentalists in Europe are boycotting ExxonMobil—known there as Esso—until the company accepts the Kyoto Protocol. (Visit www.stopesso.com for details.)

Green initiatives: Exxon is donating $10 million over eight years to the Save the Tiger Fund, established with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. As a partner in American Forests’ Global ReLeaf Project, Mobil paid for the planting of a million trees in the late 1990s.

ROYAL DUTCH/SHELL 

The world’s number 2 oil and gas group has 9,423 gasoline stations in the United States and $149 billion in sales.

Black marks: In Nigeria in 1995, nine Ogoni activists were killed by the military regime for protesting Shell’s operations there, leading the Sierra Club Board of Directors to approve a boycott of Shell for its human-rights violations. At the time, Shell was the largest oil producer (and one of the biggest polluters) in Nigeria, creating almost half of the country’s wealth. Much of this money supported the military government; little, if any, went to the communities of the Niger Delta, where Shell’s leaky pipelines contaminated farmlands and fisheries. (See www.sierra club. org/human-rights/nigeria.)

Refining record: Of the seven Shell refineries Environmental Defense evaluated, four ranked in the bottom 20 percent; one ranked in the top 15 percent.

Stance on global warming: A former member of the Global Climate Coalition, Shell has since joined the Business Environmental Leadership Council. Green initiatives: Shell Hydrogen is a participant in the California Fuel Cell Partnership (see BP entry).

CITGO  

A subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela, the country’s national oil company, CITGO has more than 15,000 outlets in the United States and furnishes gas to 7-Eleven stores. CITGO has $22 billion in sales.

Black marks: Along with BP and Conoco, CITGO obtained drilling rights in Venezuela’s Amacuro Delta, a part of the Orinoco River watershed inhabited by 25,000 Warao Indians. The Venezuelan government opened this area’s estuaries, tidal marshes, and mangrove swamps to petroleum development in 1995 without any environmental assessments.

Refining record: Of the six CITGO refineries Environmental Defense evaluated, one ranked in the bottom 20 percent; two ranked in the top 15 percent.

Stance on global warming:  According to its corporate Web site, CITGO believes that “[t]he scientific debate on whether global warming is a real phenomenon is ongoing and should not be cut short.” In reality, the debate is over for the vast majority of mainstream scientists, who agree that the earth is heating up due to human activity.

TEXACO

Another heavy hitter, Texaco has 13,088 gasoline stations in the United States and $51 billion in sales. Last October, Chevron agreed to acquire Texaco. If approved by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the deal would create the world’s fourth-largest oil company.

Black marks: In November 1993, indigenous residents of Ecuador and Peru filed a $1.5- billion class-action lawsuit against Texaco, charging that the company’s extraction operations in the Ecuadorian Amazon dumped 16 million gallons of crude oil into local rivers between 1964 and 1990. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit in May, saying the matter belongs in an Ecuadorian court; Texaco has agreed to contribute to a cleanup fund for the area, but denies any illegal environmental wrongdoing.

Refining record: Of the seven Texaco and Star (a joint venture of Texaco and Saudi Aramco) refineries Environmental Defense evaluated, one ranked in the bottom 20 percent.

Stance on global warming: In February 2000, Texaco became the first U.S. oil giant to drop out of the Global Climate Coalition, which led the GCC to reconfigure its membership.

Green initiatives: Texaco is a participant in the California Fuel Cell Partnership (see BP entry). In May 2000, Texaco spent $67.4 million on a 20 percent share in Energy Conversion Devices Incorporated, an alternative-energy firm working on fuel cells and other new technologies.

CHEVRON

Chevron has 7,980 outlets in the United States and $52 billion in annual sales. In October of last year, the company agreed to acquire Texaco, pending the merger’s approval by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Black marks: When Chevron bought Gulf Oil in 1984, it acquired its operations in Nigeria, where it has since been criticized for human-rights violations. In 1998, Nigerian military and police forces killed two villagers who were occupying a Chevron oil platform to protest environmental damage caused by the company’s operations in the Niger Delta. Chevron had hired the security force and brought the soldiers in on its company helicopters.

One of the “Dirty Four” seeking to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Chevron has paid more than $70 million in fines, settlements, and penalties since 1980. Notable incidents include a 1992 pipeline break that spilled 16,800 gallons of crude oil into Cook Inlet, Alaska, and a 1992 guilty plea to 65 violations of the Clean Water Act for illegal discharges from platforms off the California coast. As of November 1999, the EPA listed Chevron as the “potentially responsible party” for 95 hazardous-waste Superfund sites—including 69 on the national priority list—more than any other oil company.

Refining record: Of the ten Chevron refineries Environmental Defense evaluated, four ranked in the top 15 percent.

Stance on global warming: Chevron belonged to the Global Climate Coalition as long as possible. Along with Exxon, Chevron has funded public-relations efforts that promote the work of climate-science skeptics.

Green initiatives: Chevron sponsors coastal cleanups and has reduced the amount of fuel it requires to produce and refine a barrel of oil by 15 percent.

SUNOCO

Sunoco has $14 billion in sales and 3,538 outlets in the Northeast and upper Midwest, including its Ultra Service Centers and APlus mini market franchises.

Black marks: In 2000, Sunoco leaked 190,000 gallons of oil into the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge in Pennsylvania through a cracked pipe.

Refining record: Of the five Sunoco refineries Environmental Defense evaluated, two ranked in the top 15 percent.

Stance on global warming: Sunoco is a member of the Business Environmental Leadership Council and has publicly acknowledged the human role in creating climate change.

Green initiatives: Sunoco is the sole oil company to sign the CERES (Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies) Principles, a voluntary code of environmental conduct and corporate responsibility.

ULTRAMAR DIAMOND SHAMROCK

Ultramar Diamond Shamrock has $17 billion in sales and operates 5,000 retail gas/convenience stores under the Beacon, Corner Store, StopNGo, Total, Ultramar, and Diamond Shamrock names. In May, independent refiner Valero Energy Corporation announced plans to acquire Ultramar Diamond Shamrock.

Black marks: The Yadana Gas Pipeline—a project of Total and Unocal—is the single largest foreign investment project in Burma. While providing security for the pipeline project, the military government has committed human-rights violations, including forced labor and relocation. According to Earth-Rights International, “abuses such as extrajudicial killings, torture, rape, and extortion by pipeline security forces have dramatically increased since the Yadana Project was initiated.” The pipeline cuts through the Tenasserim region, one of the largest rainforest tracts left in mainland Southeast Asia.

Refining record: Of the five Ultramar or Diamond Shamrock refineries Environmental Defense evaluated, one ranked in the bottom 20 percent; one ranked in the top 15 percent.

CONOCO

Conoco operates 4,958 stations in the United States and has $39 billion in sales annually.

Black marks: In 1997, Conoco received permission to drill in Utah’s Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument—but came up empty. It is currently seeking to explore for oil in Indonesia’s Lorentz National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site. The company is also active in Venezuela (see CITGO entry for details). Conoco is a member of the National Wetlands Coalition, a lobbying group that advocates opening wetlands to development and supports legislation that would weaken the Clean Water Act.

Refining record: Environmental Defense evaluated four Conoco refineries, all of which earned mid-grade rankings for pollution-prevention. In 1990, Conoco paid $23 million to settle a lawsuit filed by residents of Ponca City, Oklahoma, who claimed that a nearby refinery had polluted their groundwater.

Green initiatives: The company voluntarily committed in 1990 to building only double-hulled tankers, which help prevent oil spills in case of a collision.

TOSCO (76, CIRCLE K)

The largest independent oil refiner in the United States, Tosco has $25 billion in sales and more than 6,300 outlets, mostly under its 76 and Circle K brands. It also operates 700 retail outlets under the Exxon and Mobil names. In February 2001, Phillips agreed to purchase Tosco in a merger that is expected to be completed late this year.

Black marks: In August 1998, Exxon and Tosco were both found guilty of discharging carcinogenic selenium into the San Francisco Bay. The companies agreed to pay $4.8 million in damages and for environmental restoration.

Refining record: Of the five Tosco refineries Environmental Defense evaluated, one ranked in the top 15 percent. More recent events have tainted that record: A 1997 explosion at Tosco’s accident-plagued refinery in Martinez, California, killed one worker and injured 46. The company was fined $136,000 for 22 safety violations. In 1999, another explosion at the same facility killed four and injured one, netting Tosco $2 million in criminal penalties for 33 safety violations.

Green initiatives: Tosco’s motor-oil containers promote 1-800-CLEANUP, a nationwide service that provides information on local recycling centers, energy conservation, and disposal of toxic products (including gasoline). The company made headlines when it vowed to eliminate MTBE, a suspected carcinogen, from gasoline sold at its 1,600 76 and Circle K outlets in California, contingent on the EPA waiving the federal fuel-additive requirement. (The EPA rejected the waiver request in June.)

PHILLIPS PETROLEUM

With 5,600 Phillips 66 outlets in the United States, Phillips Petroleum has sales of $21 billion a year. In February 2001, Phillips agreed to purchase Tosco in a merger that is expected to be completed late this year.

Black marks: The National Response Center has listed Phillips Petroleum and Phillips 66 as the “suspected responsible party” in 942 oil spills, 542 of them in Texas alone. A lethal explosion at Phillips’s Pasadena, Texas, chemical plant killed 23 people and injured 130 in October 1989, resulting in fines of $4 million and 566 citations for “willful” violations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. An explosion at the same plant in March 2000 killed one worker and injured 69, resulting in 50 allegations of safety-standards violations and $2.5 million in OSHA fines.

Phillips Petroleum is also one of the “Dirty Four” oil companies seeking to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Refining record: Of the three Phillips refineries Environmental Defense evaluated, one ranked in the bottom 20 percent.

Green initiatives: Phillips was honored in 1999 by the Texas Audubon Society for protecting bird populations and restoring their habitats and by the Oklahoma Nature Conservancy for helping preserve tallgrass prairie.