Atlantic Petroleum
Encyclopedia
Atlantic Petroleum was an oil company in the Eastern United States
headquartered in Philadelphia
, and a direct descendant of the Standard Oil Trust. It was also one of the companies that merged with Richfield Oil to form ARCO
, now part of BP
. After an unsuccessful spinoff from ARCO, Atlantic was acquired by Sunoco
in 1988.
and integrated as part of Standard Oil. The acquisition gave Rockefeller a major presence on the East Coast in his growing empire.
In 1886, after acquiring many other oil companies, the Standard Oil Trust organized territories for their companies. Atlantic's territory covered the entire state of Delaware
, the southern half of New Jersey
, and the southeasternmost corner of Pennsylvania
, essentially giving Atlantic the entire Philadelphia
area.
Due to antitrust
issues that would eventually lead to the demise of the Trust in 1911, Atlantic absorbed fellow Standards Acme Oil of Pennsylvania and the original, Pittsburgh
-based Standard Oil in 1892.
, the Standard Oil Trust was broken up, and Atlantic was one of 11 companies to acquire rights to the Standard name. (In all, 35 companies were formed from the breakup, the most notable ones without rights to the Standard name being the Ohio Oil Company, which became Marathon
and South Penn Oil Company, which though various mergers and acquisitions became Pennzoil
.) Atlantic's rights were in the entire states of Pennsylvania and Delaware, as it had given up the southern half of New Jersey to Jersey Standard (later Exxon, now ExxonMobil
).
However, like fellow baby Standard Conoco (now ConocoPhillips
), Atlantic found more marketing power in its own name than the Standard name (a rarity at the time), and declined the option to use the name. The rights to the Standard name in Pennsylvania would be acquired by a newly-formed Standard Oil of Pennsylvania, which would be acquired by Exxon in the late 1930's. ExxonMobil still owns the rights to the Standard name in Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Over the years, Atlantic would expand up across the East Coast of the U.S., mainly through acquisitions.
oil company Richfield Oil in 1966. The combined company became known as the Atlantic Richfield Company, better known by its acronym as ARCO
.
While the merger with Richfield and eventual rebranding of the stations to ARCO was successful, it did essentially make the company a bi-coastal
chain, having no presence from east of the Rocky Mountains
to west of the Appalachian Mountains
(save for Western Pennsylvania
, since Atlantic was prominent in that state). This was remedied with the purchase of Sinclair Oil
in 1969. This purchase did not go as well, and the Eastern assets of Sinclair as well as Atlantic's old assets in the Southeast
were sold to BP
in 1971. Sinclair also struggled to be rebranded as ARCO.
, notably in New Jersey, but the larger portion went to a new company controlled by Dutch banker and oil trader John Deuss. The new company revived the Atlantic name and launched its own convenience store
brand, A-Plus
.
The new Atlantic struggled financially, and in 1988 was purchased by fellow Philadelphia oil company Sunoco
.
Over the next few years, Atlantic was marketed separately from Sunoco as a lower-cost brand, and even had a new logo come into use, but by the mid-1990s Atlantic stations were rebranded as Sunoco. The last known Atlantic station was in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
, which was rebranded as Sunoco in 1996. It is currently a company-owned Sunoco station with Atlantic's old convenience store, A-Plus.
", A-Plus is currently "The Official Pit Stop of NASCAR".
In addition, Sunoco still owns the former Atlantic refinery in Philadelphia, and later consolidated it with the former Gulf Oil
refinery (which Sunoco had acquired from Chevron
) that was adjacent to the old Atlantic refinery.
Eastern United States
The Eastern United States, the American East, or simply the East is traditionally defined as the states east of the Mississippi River. The first two tiers of states west of the Mississippi have traditionally been considered part of the West, but can be included in the East today; usually in...
headquartered in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, and a direct descendant of the Standard Oil Trust. It was also one of the companies that merged with Richfield Oil to form ARCO
ARCO
Atlantic Richfield Company is an oil company with operations in the United States as well as in Indonesia, the North Sea, and the South China Sea. It has more than 1,300 gas stations in the western part of the United States. ARCO was originally formed by the merger of East Coast-based Atlantic...
, now part of BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
. After an unsuccessful spinoff from ARCO, Atlantic was acquired by Sunoco
Sunoco
Sunoco Inc. is an American petroleum and petrochemical manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, formerly known as Sun Company Inc. and Sun Oil Co. ....
in 1988.
Early Years & Standard Oil
Atlantic was founded as the Atlantic Petroleum Storage Company in 1866 in the then-fledgling oil business. In 1874, the company, now known as Atlantic Refining, was purchased by John D. RockefellerJohn D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
and integrated as part of Standard Oil. The acquisition gave Rockefeller a major presence on the East Coast in his growing empire.
In 1886, after acquiring many other oil companies, the Standard Oil Trust organized territories for their companies. Atlantic's territory covered the entire state of Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, the southern half of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, and the southeasternmost corner of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, essentially giving Atlantic the entire Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
area.
Due to antitrust
Antitrust
The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...
issues that would eventually lead to the demise of the Trust in 1911, Atlantic absorbed fellow Standards Acme Oil of Pennsylvania and the original, Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
-based Standard Oil in 1892.
Post-Standard Years
As a result of the Sherman Antitrust ActSherman Antitrust Act
The Sherman Antitrust Act requires the United States federal government to investigate and pursue trusts, companies, and organizations suspected of violating the Act. It was the first Federal statute to limit cartels and monopolies, and today still forms the basis for most antitrust litigation by...
, the Standard Oil Trust was broken up, and Atlantic was one of 11 companies to acquire rights to the Standard name. (In all, 35 companies were formed from the breakup, the most notable ones without rights to the Standard name being the Ohio Oil Company, which became Marathon
Marathon Oil
Marathon Oil Corporation is a United States-based oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Principal exploration activities are in the United States, Norway, Equatorial Guinea, Angola and Canada. Principal development activities are in the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway,...
and South Penn Oil Company, which though various mergers and acquisitions became Pennzoil
Pennzoil
Pennzoil is an American oil company founded in Los Angeles, California in 1913. In 1955, it was acquired by Oil City, Pennsylvania company South Penn Oil, a former branch of Standard Oil. In 1963, South Penn Oil merged with Zapata Petroleum; the merged company took the Pennzoil name. During the...
.) Atlantic's rights were in the entire states of Pennsylvania and Delaware, as it had given up the southern half of New Jersey to Jersey Standard (later Exxon, now ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil
Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil, is an American multinational oil and gas corporation. It is a direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil company, and was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. Its headquarters are in Irving, Texas...
).
However, like fellow baby Standard Conoco (now ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational energy corporation with its headquarters located in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas in the United States...
), Atlantic found more marketing power in its own name than the Standard name (a rarity at the time), and declined the option to use the name. The rights to the Standard name in Pennsylvania would be acquired by a newly-formed Standard Oil of Pennsylvania, which would be acquired by Exxon in the late 1930's. ExxonMobil still owns the rights to the Standard name in Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Over the years, Atlantic would expand up across the East Coast of the U.S., mainly through acquisitions.
The ARCO Years
Trying to establish a national presence, Atlantic merged with West CoastWest Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
oil company Richfield Oil in 1966. The combined company became known as the Atlantic Richfield Company, better known by its acronym as ARCO
ARCO
Atlantic Richfield Company is an oil company with operations in the United States as well as in Indonesia, the North Sea, and the South China Sea. It has more than 1,300 gas stations in the western part of the United States. ARCO was originally formed by the merger of East Coast-based Atlantic...
.
While the merger with Richfield and eventual rebranding of the stations to ARCO was successful, it did essentially make the company a bi-coastal
Bi-Coastal
Bi-Coastal is an album released in 1980 by Australian singer and songwriter Peter Allen. The album is Allen's most successful and was produced by David Foster who also wrote many of its songs. The hit "Fly Away", originally by Japanese artist Mariya Takeuchi, was co-written by Foster and Carole...
chain, having no presence from east of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
to west of the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
(save for Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania consists of the western third of the state of Pennsylvania in the United States. Pittsburgh is the largest city in the region, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic and cultural center. Erie, Altoona, and Johnstown are its...
, since Atlantic was prominent in that state). This was remedied with the purchase of Sinclair Oil
Sinclair Oil
Sinclair Oil Corporation is an American petroleum corporation, founded by Harry F. Sinclair on May 1, 1916 as the Sinclair Oil & Refining Corporation by combining the assets of 11 small petroleum companies. Originally a New York corporation, Sinclair Oil reincorporated in Wyoming in 1976...
in 1969. This purchase did not go as well, and the Eastern assets of Sinclair as well as Atlantic's old assets in the Southeast
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
were sold to BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
in 1971. Sinclair also struggled to be rebranded as ARCO.
Revival and Demise
After Sinclair was spun off in the mid-1970s, ARCO found success on the West Coast (in Richfield's old territory) as a low-cost gasoline provider. To allow the company to concentrate on this market, ARCO sold off its Northeastern interests in 1985. Some were acquired by ShellShell Oil Company
Shell Oil Company is the United States-based subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, a multinational oil company of Anglo Dutch origins, which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 22,000 Shell employees are based in the U.S. The head office in the U.S. is in Houston, Texas...
, notably in New Jersey, but the larger portion went to a new company controlled by Dutch banker and oil trader John Deuss. The new company revived the Atlantic name and launched its own convenience store
Convenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
brand, A-Plus
A-Plus
APlus is an American convenience store chain owned & operated by Sunoco, Inc.The chain began life as the convenience store chain for Atlantic Petroleum in 1985, which was spun off from ARCO, Inc...
.
The new Atlantic struggled financially, and in 1988 was purchased by fellow Philadelphia oil company Sunoco
Sunoco
Sunoco Inc. is an American petroleum and petrochemical manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, formerly known as Sun Company Inc. and Sun Oil Co. ....
.
Over the next few years, Atlantic was marketed separately from Sunoco as a lower-cost brand, and even had a new logo come into use, but by the mid-1990s Atlantic stations were rebranded as Sunoco. The last known Atlantic station was in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Chambersburg is a borough in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is miles north of Maryland and the Mason-Dixon line and southwest of Harrisburg in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley. Chambersburg is the county seat of Franklin County...
, which was rebranded as Sunoco in 1996. It is currently a company-owned Sunoco station with Atlantic's old convenience store, A-Plus.
Legacy
Many remnants of Atlantic still show with both Sunoco and ARCO (which in 2000 was acquired by BP and is now officially known as BP West Coast Products, but still uses the ARCO name). Besides the obvious reference with ARCO, Sunoco retained the A-Plus convenience store chain since Sunoco didn't have a chain of its own. Because of Sunoco's sponsorship as the "Official Fuel of NASCARNASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
", A-Plus is currently "The Official Pit Stop of NASCAR".
In addition, Sunoco still owns the former Atlantic refinery in Philadelphia, and later consolidated it with the former Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil was a major global oil company from the 1900s to the 1980s. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies...
refinery (which Sunoco had acquired from Chevron
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
) that was adjacent to the old Atlantic refinery.