After gas well explodes, Chevron offers pizza to those affected

The Chevron Corp. donation of free pizzas to Greene County, Pa., residents affected by a gas well explosion last week is not going over well, residents say. Chevron is dispensing 100 gift certificates for pizza and soft drinks to those in the area of the southwestern Pennsylvania county where a gas well exploded Feb. 11. The incident killed a worker, injured another and sparked a fire that burned for four days. The cause of the blast is still unknown, Jeff Rhodes, Greene County 911 Emergency coordinator said. Chevron's attempted outreach was the topic of a Twitter user, who wrote Tuesday, "Worst apology ever. Sorry our fracking well exploded, here's a free pizza." Another unidentified resident said he found the gift certificate when he returned home Sunday, and noted it was the first and last time Chevron contacted him about the incident, CNN reported Wednesday. In a statement, Chevron said it offered the pizza gift certificates to local restaurants as "a token of appreciation" to neighbors affected by the events. It added, on its website Tuesday, the situation at the well "remains serious, and teams are working around the clock to safely approach and shut the well."