Pacific Oil Conference Board Meeting
Western Petroleum Marketers Association Convention and
Tradeshow
Want to see the photos that didn't make the issue? Check out
the Cutting Room
Floor.
EPA Okays Draft For Arizona Refinery
Pair Steals Over 1 Million Gallons of Fuel
Lawsuits Shutter New Jobber BT Fuels
Jim Coleman Buys Hanna Carwash
FamilyMart C-Stores Coming to U.S.
Aloha Acquires Hawaii Stations
PHOENIX, AZ. — In a first step that many thought was impossible, the Environmental Protection Agency has approved a draft permit for a new refinery.
The proposed refinery would be operated by Arizona Clean Fuels and would be located off Interstate 8 near the town of Tacna in southwestern Arizona.
The $2.5 billion refinery, as proposed, would produce 150,000 barrels of fuel per day including gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.
With the population growth in the Southwest, marketers, government officials and consumers have all expressed their concerns about supply in the area. By building a new refinery, many of the concerns could be alleviated.
Arizona Clean Fuels is also proposing a pipeline to the refinery from a Mexican port, bringing access to international and Texas crude to the facility. The company says they are already in negotiations with Mexican officials regarding the project.
If the refinery is built, it will be the first new refinery in the U.S. in 30 years.
SEATTLE, WA. — Two men have been jailed on suspicion of stealing over one million gallons of fuel from Kinder Morgan over the course of 1 1/2 years.
According to local police reports, the men work for General Transport of Grandview, WA., which delivers fuel from Kinder Morgan.
Neil Kikuchi, an office manager for a trucking company that works with General Transport, allegedly would use his access cards on weekends to pick up tanker trucks. He would then access the Kinder Morgan fuel depot on Harbor Island, load between 10,000 and 20,000 gallons of gasoline, and then sell the fuel with the assistance of the other suspect.
The pair were able to use a computer security bypass to activate the rack and pull fuel without it showing on the terminal's records.
The gasoline theft, which occurred between December 2002 and August 2004, was discovered when Kinder Morgan ran an internal audit.
Kinder Morgan contacted the Port of Seattle when they determined there might be gasoline theft occurring. Port of Seattle detectives, the Washington State Patrol, and the Washington Department of Licensing combined forces to make the arrest at the end of January.
The pair were charged with first-degree theft, conspiracy to commit theft, and state gasoline tax evasion — they did not pay the Washington taxes of approximately $260,000 on the stolen fuel.
ORANGE, CA. — Less than two months after launching the company, start-up jobber BT Fuels has closed its operations.
According to an official statement, "Factors for the closure include the lawsuit filed by Southern Counties Oil Co. Ltd. against BT Fuels LLC, Toms Sierra Co. Inc., and a number of former employees of SC Fuels.
"BT Fuels and Sierra Energy do not believe the lawsuit is well founded or justified by the facts and expects to allege various cross-claims agains SC Fuels in the lawsuit."
Among the allegations in the SC Fuels lawsuit are unfair trade practices, unfair competition, and wrongful interference by BT Fuels; countersuits had not been filed at the time of press.
BT Fuels began operations on March 1 to market and distribute gasoline and diesel fuel in the Western United States. Led by former SC Fuels top-tier management Randy Jones and Don Harper, the company had offices in Roseville, CA., and Phoenix, AZ., as well as its headquarters in Orange, CA.
BT Fuels worked in partnership with Toms Sierra Co., (doing business as Sierra Energy), taking over distribution for that jobbership. With the close of BT Fuels, Toms Sierra Company will return to its original structure and continue to do business in northern California and Nevada.
PORTLAND, OR. — Jim Coleman Company has acquired the assets and brand of Hanna car wash equipment.
With the acquisition of Hanna, Jim Coleman company will offer washes for all three segments of the industry: in-bay, self-serve, and conveyor.
Both the Hanna and Coleman brand names will be maintained by Coleman, although all of Hanna production has been moved from Portland, OR., to the Houston, TX., area where Jim Coleman Co. is based.
"This is, by far, the most exciting event in the history of our company," said Jim Coleman, founder of Jim Coleman Company, announcing the deal.
Coleman added, "This opportunity gives us access to Hanna's established U.S. and international distributor base. Hanna has a 45-year track record of delivering innovative equipment and providing service to more than 90 countries. This combined with our own extensive network will give operators access to the industry's largest and most diverse team of experts with strength and knowledge in all car wash segments."
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA. — FamilyMart Co., a Japan-based convenience store chain, has opened its first c-store in the United States, beginning a major expansion into North America.
The company has reportedly signed a lease for a location in West Hollywood, CA., and is scouting for locations in Westwood and Santa Monica, also in Southern California. They have also opened a U.S. headquarters in Carson, CA.
The company had said they planned to open their FamilyMart c-stores in the U.S. over a year ago but delayed the expansion until they had stabilized their new locations in China.
Hidenari Sato, vice president of Famima Corp., the parent company of the FamilyMart chain, said the company plans to open 200 FamilyMart c-stores in the U.S. by the end of 2008.
Sato said their stores follow a different model than traditional U.S. c-stores, focusing on upscale food offerings, prepared meals, and high levels of customer service.
"What we're trying to launch is not convenience," stated Sato. "It's something more than convenience. We're trying to get customers from premium grocers and also quick-service restaurants."
In order to create a high-end appeal, the FamilyMart stores feature upscale elements such as hardwood floors and shelves of stainless steel and wood. Clerks are trained to greet customers when they arrive, give attentive service, and thank customers when they leave.
Among the prepared foods to be offered in the FamilyMart stores are traditional American offerings like sandwiches, pasta, and salad as well as foods with an Asian flare including sushi, bento boxes, and rice balls.
It is expected that the prepared foods will make up 30% of the sales from the FamilyMart c-stores.
FamilyMart is the third largest c-store operator in Japan with 6,000 stores in the island nation and 11,000 stores world-wide.
HONOLULU, HI. — Aloha Petroleum has agreed to purchase from U.S. Restaurant Properties service station leases and U.S. Restaurant's terminal interest in Hawaii. The purchase price is reportedly $6.2 million.
Under the terms of the deal, U.S. Restaurant Properties will continue to own 11 of the station properties which will be leased to and operated by Aloha. It is expected the stations will be rebranded to Aloha and the c-stores to Aloha's Island Mini Marts.
Dallas-based U.S. Restaurant Properties acquired the stations when BP acquired Arco; the Hawaii stations were orginally Arco-branded.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter.
Originally published in the April 2005 issue of O&A Marketing News.
Copyright 2005 by KAL Publications Inc.
Serving the 13 Western States, the World's Largest Gasoline, Oil, Fuel, TBA and Automotive Service Market
