The president of Standard Oil announced in a letter Monday that customers will pay less for oil than estimates predicted last summer.

The company president sent out a letter telling customers who locked into fixed oil prices last summer that, rather than paying almost $4 per gallon, they will be charged just under $2.25. According to the vice president of Standard Oil, the company decided to lower prices in order to reward customers who settled into fixed price agreements.

"As everyone knows it's a recession and everyone is managing every dollar that they have, so we definitely want a gift like that from Standard Oil," David Charles, of Bridgeport, says.

The vice president of Standard Oil says about 12,000 people will pay less for their heating oil. The company expects to lose roughly $1.60 on every gallon of oil.