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Posted By: Big B1 Richfield - Wed Jan 11 2012 06:03 PM
What year did Richfield stop selling gas?
Posted By: advertologist Re: Richfield - Wed Jan 11 2012 06:09 PM
1966: Richfield Oil Corporation merges with Atlantic Refining Company, creating Atlantic Richfield Company [ARCO]
Posted By: eshaver Re: Richfield - Wed Jan 11 2012 11:46 PM
Kinda of a "Grey area" here . While Atlantic Refining may have made an "Offical merger ", retailers such as Atlantic however didn't get the Re-imaging materials until 1969. I was working at an Atlantic in 1969 and I can tell ya as an employee that Atlantic , Atlantic Imperial - gasoline and oil was sold right up to that time . Meanwhile, accross town , the Sinclair signs were all around me selling ole Dino, Dino Supreme and gasoline . Richfield gasoline had pulled out of Virginia years earlier . In fact , as far back as 1965 was their last full year that I ever saw a New York Richfield station . Seems that Richfield Los Angles was still selling some of their brand as late as 1972 in many parts of Texas .

In 1971 however to be fair with all of the moving and shaking in the trio of ARCO , American peto-fina , uh Fina was given permission to aquire all former Richfield and Sinclair Properties from North Carolina south . Properties NORTH of North carolina were sold mostly to the former British petrolieuem company, B P . They in turn merged with Boron and Sohio.

Arco continued to be a minor retailer in the Mid east until about 1982 when the Headquarters moved West to the former Richfield offices in Los Angles .

Ed Shaver
Posted By: Big B1 Re: Richfield - Thu Jan 12 2012 12:16 AM
Thanks guys I was wondering because I have a Richfield Ethyl globe that says September 1982 on shields band. I guess that means its a repro. right
Posted By: Dave's Garage Re: Richfield - Thu Jan 12 2012 12:38 AM
Yes, it's a reproduction.
Posted By: Dick Bennett Re: Richfield - Thu Jan 12 2012 02:15 AM
Or a Fantasy item [size].
Posted By: Carolinatraveler Re: Richfield - Thu Jan 12 2012 02:27 AM
To clarify some things - there were two "Richfields". Richfield of New York was split off from Richfield Oil Company of California back in the 1930s and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Sinclair. In 1938 Richfield (NY) became a jobber only company, operating only through marketers. The brand expanded from the northeast into North and South Carolina in the late 1930s and eventually into Florida in the 1950s. In June 1964 the Richfield brand was discontinued and remaining jobbers were offered the Sinclair brand, which many took on, while others took the opportunity to switch brands entirely. One Pennsylvania jobber had an unusual contract and forced Sinclair to continue to use the Richfield name for several months, but other than that single operation, Richfield of NY ceased to exist in the summer of 1964.
In the meantime, Richfield of California marketed in the west, and was a fully integrated oil company. They merged with Atlantic Refining in January 1966 and experimentation began with the Arco brand within a year or so in VERY LIMITED testing. Officially both Atlantic in the east and Richfield in the west was converted to the ARco brand beginning in 1969, to be completed by late 1970.
In this same era, Atlantic Richfield merged with Sinclair, and in an effort to win justice department approval of the merger, Sinclair marketing from Maine to Florida, which would have included any former Richfield NY jobbers still with Sinclair, was sold to British Petroleum, itself involved in a merger with Sohio. Sinclair stations from Maine to Florida were converted to BP in 1970. In 1972 BP sold marketing in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and most of North Carolina to American Petrofina, resulting in a three year Sinclair to BP to Fina conversion. Fina marketing was sold off piecemeal in the 1990s and jobbers were lost to attrition. Elsewhere Sinclair marketing, after some areas converted to a transitional Arco-Sinclair image, was sold off to independent owners and remains in operation today.
Former Atlantic marketing in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and again, most of North Carolina, which had rebranded Arco in 1969-1970, was abandoned in 1972 and sold off piecemeal. Arco operated the balance of the former Atlantic marketing, from Virginia north to New England, through the 1980s, eventually closing company stations and dropping jobbers, except in New York and Pennsylvania, which was spun off to become a new independent Atlantic Refining and Marketing in the 1980s (1985, I think). This was eventually sold to Sunoco and rebranded. Hope this helps.

Wayne Henderson
PCM Publishing
Kernersville, NC
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