Gulf network expands to 425 sites selling 3 million litres annually: UK

A Gulf website that also carries the Certas Energy logo said that the number of stations making up the UK Gulf network had expanded by the end of December to 425 sites as service stations gladly switch to Gulf in hopes of carrying the banner of “a major brand and a much stronger corporate image.”

“It’s a positive move for the business. We have enjoyed some uplift in volume and now have the benefit of taking both Gulf and Shell cards,” station proprietor Keith Deaville was quoted as saying in the news section of the Certas and Gulf website in a story that described the UK Gulf network recent expansion after Deaville, an independent rural station owner, switched to the banner. The release was published near the end of December.

According to this website which carries both Certas and Gulf logos, “the Gulf brand has a proud, international reputation that is once again thriving in the UK.” Certas works with the Pace brand in addition to Gulf, the Certas website says.

Certas Energy describes itself in its own website as the one company within the United Kingdom which services “more independent petrol filling stations that any other supplier”. It says it delivers fuels and lubricants to some 1,300 independent retailers.

The Gulf website associated with Certas is only one of many Gulf websites worldwide, each associated with a different country.

The Gulf Oil Ltd. website, which provides links to 23 different websites in different countries, explains that when it comes to Gulf Oil’s global network of official distributors “each have their own specific business needs and yet are all linked by the same brand identity”.

Before that, up to until the mid-1980s, Gulf was one of the biggest companies in the world. Gulf was so powerful that it was one of the famous “Seven Sisters,” which according to the late founder of the Italian state oil company Enrico Mattei and other all-time industry experts and authors, together dominated the world oil industry for decades.

This all ended in the mid-1980s when Gulf merged with Standard Oil of California and the merged companies took the name of Chevron. Both brands were expected to disappear after the merger but Gulf continued, divided.

Nowadays, most Gulf branded filling stations in North America are owned by Cumberland Farms, according to Wikipedia. Meantime, Gulf Oil International, owned by the family-run Hinduja Group, owns the right to the brand worldwide apart from the US. Spain and Portugal, according to Hinduja's webpage.

Gulf Oil is one of the largest independent lubricant companies in the world, Hinduja says in its web page.