ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC, a leading private equity firm focused on energy infrastructure investments, announced December 29, 2015 that Chelsea Petroleum Products Holdings, LLC, an affiliate of ArcLight, completed the purchase of Gulf Oil LP from Cumberland Farms, Inc. The actual purchase price was not disclosed but said to be $800 million.

Framingham, Mass.-based Gulf Oil LP began using the Gulf name in 1986 through a licensing agreement with San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron, which owned the rights to the century-old brands as a result of the Chevron Gulf merger. In January 2010, Gulf Oil LP, acquired all rights, title, and interest to the Gulf brand in the US from Chevron USA Inc.

Rick Dery, Senior Vice President and Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Gulf Oil LP, told OEM/Lube News "The Gulf lubricants business is also included in the sale to ArcLight Capital. Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Nu-Tier Brands has been and will continue to be the exclusive licensee for the production and sale of lubricants under the Gulf mark."

Gulf will maintain its headquarters in Massachusetts and retain its name and limited partnership structure. This transition is not expected to disrupt existing practices or agreements.

Ron Sabia, the current President of Gulf, and other members of the senior executive team will remain in key leadership roles with the business.

“Gulf is well-established among consumers as a top tier brand and in recent years has experienced significant growth of marketed volumes,” said Dan Revers, Managing Partner and co-founder of ArcLight. “The ownership of a major petroleum wholesaler and terminal operator represents a significant opportunity in today’s energy industry and is a key component of our investment strategy.”

Jerry Ashcroft will be President and Chief Executive Officer of Gulf; Jerry has held executive leadership roles at Buckeye (2009-2014), Colonial Pipeline (2000-2006, 2008-2009) and JP Energy Partners (2014-2015). He is a decorated Major in the United States Marine Corps, and holds a Bachelor of Science from the United States Naval Academy and MBA from Goizueta Business School, Emory University.

Also on the leadership team is Mike Campbell, Chief Financial Officer, who previously held the role of CFO at Crestwood Midstream Partners and Crestwood Equity Partners, the general partner of CMLP (2012-2015) and Inergy Midstream, LP (2003-2012). Mike holds a BA in Finance from Kansas State University and MBA from Wichita State University.

Gulf Oil Corporation, formed in 1907, was a major international oil company that once ranked among the top “Seven Sisters.” In the first decade of the 20th century, the company promoted the concept of branded products by selling gasoline in containers and from pumps marked with a distinctive orange disc logo. It is credited with establishing the first drive-in service station in 1911. Gulf Oil was merged into Chevron in 1984. To comply with federal antitrust provisions, Chevron sold some Gulf stations to Cumberland Farms in 1985.

A private company, owned by the Haseotes family, Gulf Oil LP is a terminal operator and wholesaler and distributor of refined petroleum products, including heating oil, diesel fuel, gasoline, lubricants and other petroleum products, to over 2,300 branded outlets as well as 1,000 private label retail outlets operated by major chain retailers, marketing 3.3 billion gallons of products in 2014. Gulf owns and operates a comprehensive network of 12 proprietary refined product storage terminals as well as supplies wholesale product through 75 other terminals, with connectivity via the Buckeye and Laurel pipelines as well as barge access that allows Gulf to source product from Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, and all of the major United States refining markets. Gulf’s extensive distribution network includes gasoline retail centers, wholesale distributors, and commercial and industrial accounts.

Headquartered in Boston, with an additional office in Luxembourg, ArcLight is a private equity firm focused on North American and Western European energy assets. Since its establishment in 2001, ArcLight has invested over $13.9 billion across multiple energy cycles in more than 90 investments.