Pennzoil
Formerly |
|
---|---|
Company type | Shell Oil Company in 2002, becoming a brand of it, along with Quaker State |
Headquarters | , |
Products | Motor oils |
Brands | Pennzoil (1916–)[1] |
Owner | Shell plc |
Website | pennzoil.com |
Pennzoil is an American motor oil brand currently owned by Shell plc. The former Pennzoil Company had been established in 1913 in Pennsylvania, being active in business as an independent firm until it was acquired by Shell in 2002, becoming a brand of the conglomerate.[1]
History
Beginning and expansion
Origins of the company can be traced to the "South Penn Oil Company", an oil business started in Oil City, Pennsylvania by Michael Late Benedum and Joe Trees in May 1889 as a unit of Standard Oil.[2] It became the largest oil producer in the region, becoming independent when Standard Oil was split in 1911. By those times, two companies, one on the East Coast and another on the West (founded in 1908 and 1913 respectively) started to market their motor oils under the brand Pennzoil. Their refineries and distributors were later incorporated as "The Pennzoil Company" in 1925.[1] In 1955, South Penn Oil acquired complete ownership of Pennzoil Co.[1]
In 1963, South Penn Oil merged with
During the 1970s, the company moved its offices to the Pennzoil Place in Downtown Houston, Texas.[4]
In 1977 a spin-off company was formed called POGO, an acronym for Pennzoil Offshore Gas Operators.[5]
Pennzoil, Co. v. Texaco, Inc.
In 1984, Pennzoil made an informal but binding contract with Getty Oil to purchase a large portion of Getty Oil to give Pennzoil rights to Getty's oil deposits.[6] Following the deal, the Texaco oil company encroached on the complex merger in an attempt to acquire Getty for itself.[7]
Pennzoil sued Texaco in Texas state court, alleging that Texaco tortiously induced Getty to breach the contract with Pennzoil. At first it was adjudicated by Judge Anthony J.P. Farris; it was finished by visiting Judge Solomon (Sol) Casseb of San Antonio. A jury awarded Pennzoil, represented by Joe Jamail and Baine Kerr, $7.53 billion in compensatory damages and $3 billion in punitive damages. Under Texas law, Pennzoil could secure a lien on all of Texaco's property in the state, unless Texaco posted a bond that covered the judgment, interests and costs of the lawsuit (estimated to be $13 billion).[8]
Before judgment could be entered in the Texas court and Pennzoil could obtain a lien, Texaco filed a suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that the Texas proceedings violated Texaco's constitutional rights. The District Court found for Texaco, and the Second Circuit affirmed.
Texaco also appealed the Texas state court decision. The Texas Court of Appeals upheld the jury verdict, but found that the trial court had abused its discretion by not suggesting a remittitur (reduction of damages). It would allow the verdict to stand if Pennzoil filed a remittitur of two billion dollars, making the punitive damages award $1 billion.[11] Compensatory damages of $7.53 billion remained unaffected. Pennzoil paid Mr. Jamail $335 million and Mr. Kerr $10 million for the victory.
After Texaco filed for bankruptcy, Pennzoil agreed to settle the case for $3 billion. [12]
Acquisition
In 1998, Pennzoil's motor oils, products and services divisions were spun off as an independent company, which then acquired rival
Gasoline
Though not much emphasis was ever placed on gasoline by the company, Pennzoil did sell it.[14] In the early parts of the company's history, the gas stations were branded as Pennzip, though they were later changed to Pennzoil. For decades, Pennzoil gas stations were mostly marketed in western Pennsylvania, western New York, northern and eastern Ohio, and northern West Virginia.
In the 1990s, Pennzoil gas experienced a bit of a revival when
After Shell's purchase of Pennzoil, there was the possibility that the remaining Pennzoil stations—mostly in western Pennsylvania—would be converted to Shell as part of the company's aggressive movement to expand nationally. This didn't happen, but the three company-owned Pennzoil gas stations in the New Castle, Pennsylvania, area began co-branding themselves with 7-Eleven in 2003, with more emphasis placed on the 7-Eleven brand name than Pennzoil itself.
Gradually, BP began replacing Pennzoil at some of these sites in 2006 while retaining 7-Eleven (a Pennzoil in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, also converted to BP at the same time) while others were sold to private owners and became independent, unbranded locations. By the mid-2010s, Pennzoil was no longer selling gasoline.
Commercial automotive and motorcycle partnerships
Pennzoil is an official long-term recommended motor oil of all Fiat Chrysler Automobiles companies (including all of brands and subsidiaries), BMW, Mini, Rolls-Royce, Hyundai, Chevrolet (shared with Mobil 1 and Valvoline), Ferrari, Iveco and Opel (shared with Mobil 1) for automobiles in United States. Pennzoil is also an official long-term recommended motorcycle engine oil of BMW Motorrad and Ducati for motorcycles in United States.
Motorsports
In the NASCAR Cup Series, Dale Earnhardt, Inc. had a Pennzoil sponsorship for Steve Park in their No.1 car from 1998 to 2003. Richard Childress Racing driver Kevin Harvick had a Pennzoil sponsorship from 2007 to 2010. Team Penske took over the Pennzoil sponsorship in 2011 with Kurt Busch and in 2012, it was moved over to A. J. Allmendinger and to Joey Logano in 2013, who won the 2018 and 2022 championships and the 2015 Daytona 500. Starting in 2018, Pennzoil has sponsored the Las Vegas NASCAR Cup Series spring race, the Pennzoil 400, with Logano winning the 2019 and 2020 editions of the race in his Pennzoil No.22.
Pennzoil was the title sponsor of the
Pennzoil also partnered
See also
- Getty Oil
- Jiffy Lube
- Shell Oil Company
- Quaker State
References
- ^ a b c d e f Pennzoil Company, Encyclopedia Britannica
- ISBN 0-8142-0749-9.
- ^ "PENNZOIL". Texas State Historical Association (together with the University of North Texas's "University Libraries"). Retrieved December 19, 2013.
In 1965 the Liedtke brothers achieved the dramatic takeover of United Gas Corporation, a company five times the size of Pennzoil. Among United Gas Corporation's affiliates were the United Gas Pipeline Company of Shreveport, [...] Union Producing Company; Duval Corporation, [...] and Atlas Processing Company. In 1968 United Gas was merged into Pennzoil, and the firm was renamed "Pennzoil United, Incorporated".
- ^ "General Conditions and Legal Notices." Pennzoil. February 14, 1998. Retrieved on January 17, 2010.
- ^ "W.C. Liedtke; Co-Founder of Pennzoil". Los Angeles Times. 4 March 1991.
- ISBN 0-425-11172-5.
- ISBN 978-0-324-78654-5.
- ^ Pennzoil Co. v. Texaco Inc., 481 US 1, 5 (1987).
- ^ Pennzoil Co. v. Texaco Inc., 481 US 1, 5,6 (1987).
- ^ Pennzoil Co. v. Texaco Inc., 481 US 1, 10-18 (1987).
- ^ Texaco, Inc v. Pennzoil Co., 729 SW 2d 768, 785, 866 (1987).
- ^ Lewin, Tamar (December 19, 1987). "Pennzoil-Texaco Fight Raised Key Questions". The New York Times. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
- ^ "Devon Energy Acquires PennzEnergy | Mergr M&A Deal Summary". mergr.com. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2011-07-12.
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