THE RIOT’S AFTERMATH : Oil Firms Plan to Rebuild Damaged Gas Stations : Energy: Chevron and Arco have made commitments to help stricken areas.

Chevron Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Kenneth T. Derr said Tuesday that the oil company intends to reopen seven Chevron stations badly damaged in last week’s violence and to help in other ways to rebuild stricken neighborhoods in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles-based Atlantic Richfield Co., considered to be the hardest hit of the branded gasoline retailers, made a similar pledge on Monday. The company, which sells one out of four gallons of gas in the Los Angeles area, will rebuild five Arco-owned stations that were destroyed.

Chevron’s Derr told a sparsely attended annual shareholders’ meeting in Beverly Hills that he has already been in contact with Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, as well as Peter Ueberroth, who is directing rebuilding efforts.

Chevron, Derr added, is sending $20,000 in immediate aid to the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, a private, nonprofit cleanup group, and $60,000 to the local Red Cross--the latter earmarked for families made homeless in the disturbances. Derr said the company has also sent letters to Chevron credit card holders in the affected area, offering to negotiate delays in their payment schedules--a standard offer made by the company in such crises.

Lodwrick M. Cook, chairman and chief executive of Atlantic Richfield Co., told shareholders at Arco’s annual stockholders meeting Monday that 11 Arco stations had been burned and 36 looted, at an estimated $5 million to $10 million in damage. Though as many as 132 stations were out of service for lack of fuel at the worst point over the weekend, Cook added, most are already back in business, including some that were looted or damaged. Tuesday, Arco expanded the total of looted or burned stations to 50, including two each in Las Vegas and Oakland.

“It is too early to say what specific role Arco will play in any upcoming effort to rebuild the devastated areas,” Cook said, “but I assure you that we’ll be part of any effort that has broad community support.”

Arco will definitely rebuild the five burned stations that it owns directly, but six of the burned stations are owned by private operators--”so we can’t speak for them,” George Babikian, president of Arco Products Co., clarified after the meeting.

Arco has about 500 service stations in Los Angeles and parts of Orange County, where it has about 25% of the market. Chevron has 250 stations in roughly the same area.