Program Defies Common Misconception That All Gasoline Is the Same

SAN RAMON, Calif., June 17 -- ChevronTexaco Products Company today announced that it is the first U.S. gasoline marketer to have its gasolines approved as meeting new performance criteria set by BMW, General Motors, Honda and Toyota for "TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline."

The program, which establishes criteria for detergency levels in gasoline higher than those currently set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), sets new requirements for the design of gasolines that will keep engine parts cleaner by reducing fuel-related deposits, resulting in better performance.

"We're proud to be the first marketer to meet the new 'TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline' performance criteria," said Shariq Yosufzai, president, ChevronTexaco Global Marketing. "We commend the automakers for raising the bar on fuel performance and recognizing that higher-performing fuels can provide long-term benefits to motorists."

All grades of Chevron gasoline with the Techron gasoline additive meet the new "TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline" criteria.

"ChevronTexaco has long focused on providing fuels that minimize deposits on vital engine parts," said Danny Roden, ChevronTexaco vice president for North America marketing. "Not only does Chevron with Techron help keep critical engine parts clean, it actually cleans up deposits left by gasolines with lower-quality additive packages."

Some fuels with lower-quality additive packages can build up deposits on fuel injectors and on intake valves. Others can build up deposits in combustion chambers and may lead to intake valve sticking. These problems can have negative impacts on engine performance and vehicle responsiveness.

Auto manufacturers prefer to use high-performing gasolines in their test vehicles. For example, leading U.S. automakers have been using Chevron gasolines to help them demonstrate compliance with the U.S. EPA's stringent 50,000-mile, and now 100,000-mile, emissions system durability requirements for the past 30 years.

All gasoline sold at Chevron-branded stations use ChevronTexaco's proprietary gasoline additive Techron. The patented Techron additive is added to gasoline at marketing terminals strategically located around the country. This special blend of gasoline is trucked to Chevron-branded gasoline stations for exclusive sale to ChevronTexaco customers. The additive consists of a mixture of compounds that are highly effective at fighting deposits in an engine's intake system while not contributing to combustion chamber deposits.

ChevronTexaco Products Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of the ChevronTexaco Corp. Currently celebrating its 125th anniversary, ChevronTexaco is the second-largest U.S.-based energy company and the fifth largest in the world, based on market capitalization. More than 50,000 ChevronTexaco employees work in approximately 180 countries around the world, producing and transporting crude oil and natural gas, and marketing and distributing fuels and other energy products. ChevronTexaco is based in San Ramon, Calif.

SOURCE ChevronTexaco Products Company

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06/17/2004

/NOTE TO EDITORS:
-- ChevronTexaco's U.S. refining network comprises of five wholly owned facilities (Pascagoula, Miss.; Richmond and El Segundo, Calif.; Kapolei, Hawaii; and Salt Lake City, Utah) and has the capacity to refine more than 900,000 barrels per day.
-- The company markets fuel products at more than 8,000 retail outlets under the Chevron brand. Starting July 1, 2004, the company will start to market under the Texaco brand in 13 states when the exclusive licensing rights to Shell will expire./