Greg's Petroleum Acquires Blackburn Oil
Propel Fuels Sues Phillips 66
REG Acquires Dawson Oil Company
Chevron Plans 30 California Hydrogen Stations
Reladyne Acquired By Equity Firm

GREG'S PETROLEUM ACQUIRES BLACKBURN OIL

DELANO, CA. — Greg's Petroleum Service, based in Delano, CA., has acquired Blackburn Oil Company of Arvin, CA., The purchase price was not disclosed.

Founded in 1969, Blackburn Oil Company had been marketing ExxonMobil products to the agricultural and commercial businesses in California's Central Valley.

Following the sale, Blackburn's operations will be merged into Greg's Petroleum Service to distribute their bulk fuel, lubricants, and cardlock business throughout the San Joaquin Valley.

"We are thrilled to welcome Blackburn Oil Company to the Greg's Petroleum Service family, said Ron Mariani, President & CEO of Greg's Petroleum Service, announcing the deal. "This acquisition enhances our service levels with new employees, equipment, and a location in Arvin." Mariani added, "We are excited to watch our team grow and look forward to the future."

A family owned and operated company, Greg's Petroleum Service Inc., distributes fuel, lubricants, and chemicals in the Central California territory and participates in the CFN network, operating Greg's branded cardlocks in Delano and Bakersfield, CA.

PROPEL FUELS SUES PHILLIPS 66

SAN FRANCISCO, CA. — Propel Fuels, Inc. has filed a lawsuit against Phillips 66 Company alleging the Houston-based oil company misappropriated Propel's trade secrets and engaged in unlawful business practices in violation of California's Uniform Trade Secrets Act and Unfair Competition Law.

In the suit, Seattle-based Propel alleges that Phillips 66 obtained Propel's trade secrets during the due diligence process for a proposed acquisition only to walk away from the deal. The plaintiff claims that Phillips 66 is investing billions of dollars in the California renewable fuel market based on Propel's trade secrets they learned during the negotiations.

Phillips 66 had submitted an all-cash acquisition bid to acquire Propel in December 2017 and began what it described as confirmatory due diligence.

"What started as standard due diligence," stated Propel Fuels CEO Rob Elam, "transformed into a year-long extraction of trade secrets."

In the due diligence process, Propel claims that Phillips 66 demanded detailed information about all aspects of Propel's business as well as strategic insights from Propel's management, the lawsuit says.

Propel alleges that Phillips 66 demanded Propel use their proprietary location algorithms to choose the top 250 locations for new Phillips 66 / 76-branded low-carbon fueling sites across California. According to the complaint, those sites were later built by Phillips 66 without Propel, designed to serve Propel customers.

The lawsuit alleges that in order to acquire this confidential information, Phillips 66 repeatedly assured Propel's senior management of its intention to close the deal and that it would not enter the California renewables market without Propel.

After Phillips terminated the acquisition, three days later Phillips 66 notified California regulators that it intended to apply for permits to distribute and sell the same kind of low-carbon fuels as Propel Fuels.

Phillips 66 is currently in the final stages of an $800 million project at its Rodeo, CA., refinery to begin making renewable diesel fuel for the Western market. The major oil company also began selling renewable diesel and E85 fuel at its California retail 76 stations.

Elam said that Propel Fuels was left with "no choice" but to seek legal remedy for the alleged theft of its proprietary business data and methods by Phillips 66.

Propel is represented by the San Francisco law offices Kobre & Kim, who brought the suit Feb. 16, 2022, in Alameda County Superior Court. The complaint was unsealed in mid-May by the court.

REG ACQUIRES DAWSON OIL COMPANY

AMES, IA. — Renewable Energy Group, Inc. has acquired Dawson Oil Company of Rocklin, CA. The purchase price was not disclosed.

At the time of the sale, Dawson Oil distributed 24 million gallons of fuel annually as well as marketing DEF, heating oil, and lubricants. The company also operates service stations and cardlocks in Auburn, Diamond Springs, Oroville, and Yuba City in Northern California under the Dawson Oil brand as well as a Dawson Carwash in Rocklin.

REG officials say they will continue to serve existing Dawson Oil customers as well as expand their fuel offering to include REG's EnDura Fuels line.

"This acquisition is a strategic growth opportunity for us as California continues to lead the way in the adoption and transition to cleaner, lower carbon fuels," said REG President Cynthia "CJ" Warner, announcing the deal. "Combining REG's bio-based diesel expertise with the market and operational know-how of the Dawson Oil team will further position REG as the clean fuel transition partner of choice."

"I am proud of the heritage and business our team has built at Dawson Oil," said Dawson Oil Co-President Kasey Fray. "I believe joining REG will grow our operation into the next chapter by introducing renewable fuels and providing our customers with the sustainable solutions they need, while maintaining the quality of service they expect."

Dawson Oil is the second California distributorship acquired by REG this year; the company purchased Amber Resources at the beginning of 2022. REG officials say the Dawson purchase "is REG's latest move in building upon its downstream strategy."

CHEVRON PLANS 30 CALIFORNIA HYDROGEN STATIONS

SAN RAMON, CA. — Chevron U.S.A. Inc. has announced plans to co-develop and construct 30 hydrogen fueling sites in California in partnership with Iwatani Corporation of America (ICA).

As part of the agreement, Chevron plans to fund construction of the sites, which are expected to be located at Chevron-branded retail locations across the state. The stations will initially fuel light-duty vehicles while retaining the flexibility to service heavy-duty vehicles over the long term.

Iwatani will operate and maintain the hydrogen fueling sites and provide hydrogen supply and transportation logistics services.

Chevron plans to supply a portion of the fueling sites with excess hydrogen production capacity at its Richmond Refinery and future hydrogen production from pilot projects in Northern California.

Santa Clara-based ICA also owns and operates a network of Iwatani-branded hydrogen refueling stations in California. Its parent company, Iwatani Corporation currently operates light and heavy-duty hydrogen refueling stations across Japan as well as five liquid and ten gaseous hydrogen production plants.

The joint-venture Chevron stations in California are expected to be complete by 2026.

RELADYNE ACQUIRED BY EQUITY FIRM

NEW YORK, NY. — RelaDyne, the Cincinnati-based company that has been acquiring fuel and lubricants companies across the United States, has itself been acquired by a private equity firm.

American Industrial Partners acquired RelaDyne, Inc. at the end of the year. The purchase price was not disclosed.

"This a great step in the continued evolution and strategy for RelaDyne," said Larry Stoddard, RelaDyne CEO. "We look forward to partnering with AIP."

RelaDyne was formed in 2010 by the combination of four companies and has since grown to more than 60 locations "by strategically acquiring other industry leaders in the lubricant, fuel distribution, and industrial service segments."

Originally published in the June 2022 issue of O&A Marketing News.
Copyright 2022 by KAL Publications Inc.