Gulf Has Found Its Way Back to Texas

When oil was discovered south of Beaumont, Texas, just off the Gulf of Mexico more than a century ago, a few folks with lots of money got together, including one of the Mellons from Pittsburgh, and started up the business that became Gulf Oil in 1907.

The original investors, of course, made plenty of dough: at their peak, the wells pulled more than 100,000 barrels of oil out of the earth daily.

Over time, and with various business partnerships and purchases, Gulf, now based in Massachusetts, hasn’t had such a strong presence in the Lone Star State. Since it merged with SOCAL in 1985, a lot of Gulfs have become Chevrons, and Petro-Canada bought out all the Gulfs north of the border.

However, things are changing. The Gulf logo and name are still strong and are reportedly making a return to Texas.

With no refinery, Gulf is now just a retailer and distributor. The Houston Chronicle reports that Gulf is rebranding 50 Exxon Mobil gas stations around the Houston area. The effort will begin in mid-May and follows in the footsteps of the rebranding of five stations in Austin last year.

Rick Dery, senior vice president of sales and marketing, told the Chronicle that the company “plans to brand at least 15 new stations each year for the next decade.”