CITGO Fueled Up and Growing in 2012

HOUSTON, Jan. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- CITGO Petroleum Corporation is convening 18 Marketer Roundtable Meetings in the New Year, each with a strong message of growth in 2012. Scattered throughout its marketing footprint, these meetings provide opportunities for Marketers to hear directly from the CITGO team about new programs and plans that will ultimately help them and their Retailers realize more consumer visits, more purchases and more tanks of gasoline in the coming year.

"No doubt the highlight of 2011 was the continued excitement regarding our new image, as about 1,500 locations adopted the new, vibrant look," said Gustavo Velasquez, vice president of supply and marketing for CITGO. "At the same time, we added 445 new CITGO locations and welcomed 13 new Marketers to the CITGO family. Our goal in 2012 is to build on this great momentum and keep our Marketers and Retailers energized and excited about the future of the CITGO brand."

Energizing programs available to CITGO Marketers and Retailers in 2012 include:

• A new, easy-to-implement rewards program using Visa's real-time messaging platform to help increase store traffic, volume and sales.
• An enhanced mystery shop program, Trimark of Excellence that includes new rewards for compliance and new fines for non-compliance.
• A new microsite, myCITGOStore.com, which will enable CITGO Retailers to access information on the enhanced mystery shop program. Retailers that register on the site will be entered into monthly drawings for a tablet and a grand prize $2,500 Visa gift card.
• An enhanced, customizable loyalty program with Exclusive Connections.
• Continued adoption of the dynamic Centennial Image, an exciting way to attract new customers and improve sales.
• Continued participation in the on-going Fueling Good program that works to reward people who make a difference in their communities.

"We know that our most important asset at CITGO is the human connection, which provides our Marketers with a keen focus on their business, flexibility and transparency in all CITGO programs, and an accessible management team. That is why these Roundtable Meetings, which allow our Marketers to provide input and ask questions, are so important to us," added Velasquez. "Many of these new programs and enhancements to existing programs came from their valuable feedback, working on the front lines every day as the true face of CITGO."

For more information about the broad range of programs available to CITGO Marketers and Retailers in 2012, Marketers are encouraged to attend their local CITGO Roundtable Meeting or, if unable to attend, contact their local CITGO representative.

CITGO, based in Houston, is a refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. The company is owned by PDV America, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. For more information, visit www.CITGO.com.

SOURCE CITGO Petroleum Corporation