FLORENCE, Ky. -- Oil and gas distributor and convenience store operator Harper Oil Products Inc. has announced that it is switching from being a distributor of Chevron gasoline products exclusively to Marathon Oil. The move is being forced by Chevron's decision to leave the Kentucky market, according to a report by The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Harper Oil, headquartered in Florence, Ky., is choosing to partner with Houston-based Marathon Oil, said the report.
Harper Oil operates eight Hop Shop Food Mart c-stores throughout northern Kentucky, and the company [image-nocss] has had a relationship with Chevron for 55 years. It will no longer sell Chevron gasoline, but will still sell Chevron and Petro-Canada branded lubricants. The company will also exclusively sell wholesale Marathon gasoline products in the region for other stations, the report said.
The switch will occur over the spring and Chevron will be fully withdrawn from the market by July. Chevron is pulling out of 11 states.
After review of its U.S. portfolio, Chevron has decided to withdraw its motor fuels operations in some areas of the eastern United States, including Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, New Jersey, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., and parts of Tennessee. Approximately 1,100 independently owned and operated retail stations will be debranded.
The San Ramon, Calif.-based company said that it expect all of the stations to continue operating under other brands and to have programs in place to assist retailers with the transition. It expected to complete the planned market exits by mid-year 2010.
Gus Santoyo, public relations manager for global downstream at Chevron, told CSP Daily News in early December 2009 that "these [stations] are all independently owned and operated, and we'll be assisting them to debrand and to operate with other brands. We're hoping to get it done by the end of the second quarter."
(Click here for previous CSP Daily News coverage of Chevron's withdrawal.)
Separately, several Illinois BP gas stations recently switched to carrying the Shell brand, reported The Daily Journal. The Manteno Fast & Fresh the Bradley Fast & Fresh, as well as stores in Ashkum and in Herscher are now selling Shell gasoline, said the report.
Ownership of the stations has not changes, Joann Davis, store manager at Manteno Fast & Fresh, told the newspaper. Davis said the stations are owned by Rick Marketti.
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