Gulf Oil LP
| File:Gulf Oil logo.png | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Petroleum industry |
| Predecessor | Gulf Oil 1901 |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Headquarters | Wellesley, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Number of locations | 1,103 (2025) |
Area served | United States East Coast |
Key people | Eric Johnson (president and CEO) |
| Products | Fuels, Lubricants Greases Marine Lubricants |
| Revenue | Template:US$ (2022) |
| Owner |
|
| Website | gulfoil.com |
Gulf Oil LP is a U.S.-based petroleum company that emerged following Chevron Corporation’s acquisition of the Gulf Oil brand rights in the United States for $13 billion in 1985.
By 2010, the convenience store operator Cumberland Farms secured full ownership of the Gulf brand’s U.S. rights from Chevron, taking over all marketing and operations. Originally, Gulf Oil LP’s headquarters were located in Chelsea and Newton, Massachusetts; later, it shared office space with Cumberland Farms in Framingham before moving to Wellesley in 2015. In 2015, Cumberland Farms divested Gulf Oil LP to ArcLight Capital Partners, which subsequently transferred ownership to the convenience store chain RaceTrac in 2023.
History
In March 1985, Chevron purchased the rights to the Gulf Oil brand for $12 billion and converted thousands of service stations to Chevron branding by the end of that year. To manage debt from this acquisition, Chevron sold approximately 4,000 fuel outlets to Cumberland Farms in November 1985.
Cumberland Farms acquired North American rights to the Gulf brand from Chevron in 2010. At that point, Cumberland operated nearly 500 fuel stations and maintained 20 petroleum terminals under the Gulf brand across eleven states. The creation of Gulf Oil Limited Partnership in 1993 was a joint venture with Catamount Petroleum; Cumberland held a two-thirds stake and later obtained full control. Additionally, independent franchisees such as Nu-Tier Brands distribute lubricants under the Gulf name.
Gulf Oil has been involved in sponsoring prominent sporting events across major metropolitan areas including New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh.
By June 2008, Gulf managed about 1,800 stations throughout the northeastern United States and entered into an agreement with ConocoPhillips to supply roughly 600 Exxon-branded stations in New England and New York. Cumberland Farms acquired 200 Exxon stations but initially retained the Exxon name. Following divestitures related to the ExxonMobil merger, Gulf obtained exclusive rights to use the Exxon brand in New York and New England until early 2010; however, these stations were rebranded as Gulf locations by 2009 to strengthen market presence. This strategic rebranding increased Gulf’s regional market share to approximately 10%.
In December 2009, Chevron announced plans to discontinue supplying around 1,100 stations across thirteen states. On January 12, 2010, Gulf Oil LP secured all U.S. rights to the Gulf trademark with intentions to expand beyond its existing eleven-state area from Ohio through Delaware and further northeast. Subsequent collaborations led to the reintroduction of Gulf-branded stations in Kentucky and Virginia by mid-2010.
As of May 2013, Gulf Oil LP operated sites in numerous states including Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
In December 2015, ArcLight Capital Partners purchased Gulf Oil LP from Cumberland Farms for $800 million.
Gulf also provided residential and commercial electricity services across New York and five New England states until this segment was transferred to Think Energy in 2015.
In 2020, Gulf settled violations related to the Clean Air Act by paying $2.4 million.
On July 5, 2023, Metroplex Energy—a subsidiary of RaceTrac—entered into an agreement to acquire Gulf Oil LP; this transaction was finalized on December 14, 2023.
See also
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- Oil companies of the United States
- Companies based in Framingham, Massachusetts
- American companies founded in 1986
- Retail businesses established in 1986
- Energy sector firms founded in 1986
- Non-renewable resource enterprises started in 1986
- 1986 establishments in Massachusetts
- Gulf Oil
- 5
- Companies of the United States by year of establishment
- American companies established in 1986