linewarbr wrote:
Where I live we don't have Sinclair, Marathon, or Valero branded stations. (Even though we have refineries for Marathon and Valero both in-state) So if you mark "Other", please post to specify what brand you fill up with.
I worked as a co-op for Ashland Petroleum right at the time Marathon formed a joint venture (more like a takeover) of them. While there I got to read and have all kinds of access to petroleum related news. At one time, Marathon sold gas/diesel under seven different brands, plus they inherited the three that Ashland had (Rich, Ashland, SuperAmerica). I think the latest rendition of Marathon primarily sells under Marathon, Speedway, Pilot, and maybe Starvin Marvin (never seen one of those anywhere I've lived). They could have some other brand in Louisiana, but I don't remember them all. It's very unusual for a company to have a refinery in a region and not sell gasoline under one of their brands. I never quite understood the pricing model, but retail alliances with station owners carrying their brand somehow equaled extra money though everyone was bound by market pricing.
Refineries are regional. When I was at Ashland's Catlettsburg (KY) refinery, they explained to me that Shell, BP, Ashland, Citgo, Gulf, etc. each had their own tap at the loading area where the additves were added at the truck. I was told that the driver pours a bottle in, but it would make sense if they had a tank nearby that metered them in while the tanker was filling up.
For gasoline, the additives do matter. Each company has their own blend, but as pointed out, government regulations limit what can be done. I was told that one benefit of buying premium was that it had a better additives package, but it's hard to justify the price differential.
For the employees at Ashland, the takeover by Marathon (or the sell-out by Ashland, Inc.) was a sore spot. They did quite a bit of research for the petroleum products and took a lot of pride in being a proactive company. The gasolines (and probably diesel too...only if I had known I was supposed to have an avid interest back then) always surpassed state standards. Marathon, at the time, prided itself on barely squeaking by and counting their millions for doing so. For instance, they figured out they could usually squeak by with an octane of 86.4 and still meet the 87 octane minimum. Even if they had to pay fines, they still came out ahead. I watched a lot of people lose their jobs and I avoided buying Marathon branded stuff the best I could for 10 years after the fact. Ironically, Marathon and Speedway that sell diesel out number other major stations...there's one Shell and one BP...if I want diesel, it pretty much has to come from Marathon or Speedway.
Nonbranded stations buy fuel based on market prices. It simply has to meet state minimum in terms of the additives and such. A few years ago when fuel was cheap because of the "relative excess," you generally wanted to avoid places selling well below the prevailing prices of the area. These places were generally selling fuel that was out-of-spec or past (or almost past) its shelf life.
I haven't seen a major difference in the quality or performance of diesel from various brands here. However, the diesel I've gotten from KY (when visiting family) seems to be a little better than what I get here in MI. Given all of the factors that dictate fuel economy, I'm not sure many people will be able to discern a major difference empirically unless they get a really bad tank of fuel.
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In centeral Ohio it's all junk but I use Meijer as it's not as bad as the rest.
What I didn't realize is that between grades and type of fuel coming down the pipe there is 20,000 to 30,000 gallons of a mixture of "what was and what is" and this is sold off at a lower price to a place that reprocesses this stuff.
