Originally Posted by earossi

To put it bluntly....all gasoline is the same. Every refiner makes gasoline to an API specification. And, regardless of the brand of fuel you buy, it more than likely was made by another refinery than the brand you have purchased.

"Raw", non blended gasoline is stored in tank farms and facilities referred to as terminals. The gasoline is made to the proper API standard. Since the cost of terminalling is expensive, it is not cost effective to have an Exxon Terminal next door to a Shell terminal. Instead, refiners negotiate trade agreements so that (for example) fuel sold in the local area by Shell actually came from an Exxon terminal. So, Shell can buy gasoline from Exxon in exchange for Exxon buying gasoline from Shell in a geographic area where Shell has the major terminal.

What differs is the "additive package" added to the fuel that is company specific. And, the ethanol that is added to fuel. Both additive package and the ethanol are added at the terminal where the fuel is being loaded out of.

To put it simply, you may be buying fuel manufactured by Exxon, but with the Shell additive package and ethanol added by Shell.

The ethanol added is generic and only the percent ethanol added is specified by the company. BUT, since ethanol is an octane booster, the "raw" gasoline stored at the terminal is lower in octane than sold at the station. The octane is adjusted by adding ethanol to the raw gasoline.

So, in the end analysis, all gasoline is the same. What differs is the additive package, which does have some value enhancement, though the amount is debatable.

What is more important is that if you purchase fuel containing ethanol, that the fuel be purchased from a high volume dealer who maintains his underground storage tanks to minimize the amount of water in the fuel.

Sorry for the long winded explanation, but the reality of it all is that the gasoline you purchase was probably produced by the closest refinery, independent of brand.

Before retiring, I ran a marketing engineering and terminal department for one of the largest oil companies in the world, which, hopefully, adds a little credence to what I am saying.

Originally Posted by Petza914

Exactly, just watch the truck that is filling the in-ground tanks at one station, stop at the next one up the road, then the one after that, filling multiple stations tanks from the same fuel load.

Originally Posted by earossi

Most major oil companies use dedicated trucks to deliver fuel to their stations. Recall that the fuel they carry is additized. If you are seeing non-company trucks deliver fuel to more than one company, then the fuel is probably not additized.

Many of the "discount" sellers of gasoline purchase fuel that is not additized. Since the additive adds 2 to 5 cents to the cost of a gallon, discounters can sell their non-additized fuel at a lower cost then a major.

So, if you buy your fuel from Walmart or Cosco (for example), the chances are that the fuel has not been additized. And, that is what I would suspect if you are seeing fuel delivery trucks delivering fuel to different company locations such as Walmart and then Cosco. Disclaimer: I am not suggesting that Walmart and/or Cosco fail to add any additives. I frankly do not know what they do to their fuel.

Originally Posted by earossi

To put it bluntly....all gasoline is the same. Every refiner makes gasoline to an API specification. And, regardless of the brand of fuel you buy, it more than likely was made by another refinery than the brand you have purchased.

"Raw", non blended gasoline is stored in tank farms and facilities referred to as terminals. The gasoline is made to the proper API standard. Since the cost of terminalling is expensive, it is not cost effective to have an Exxon Terminal next door to a Shell terminal. Instead, refiners negotiate trade agreements so that (for example) fuel sold in the local area by Shell actually came from an Exxon terminal. So, Shell can buy gasoline from Exxon in exchange for Exxon buying gasoline from Shell in a geographic area where Shell has the major terminal.

What differs is the "additive package" added to the fuel that is company specific. And, the ethanol that is added to fuel. Both additive package and the ethanol are added at the terminal where the fuel is being loaded out of.

To put it simply, you may be buying fuel manufactured by Exxon, but with the Shell additive package and ethanol added by Shell.

The ethanol added is generic and only the percent ethanol added is specified by the company. BUT, since ethanol is an octane booster, the "raw" gasoline stored at the terminal is lower in octane than sold at the station. The octane is adjusted by adding ethanol to the raw gasoline.

So, in the end analysis, all gasoline is the same. What differs is the additive package, which does have some value enhancement, though the amount is debatable.

What is more important is that if you purchase fuel containing ethanol, that the fuel be purchased from a high volume dealer who maintains his underground storage tanks to minimize the amount of water in the fuel.

Sorry for the long winded explanation, but the reality of it all is that the gasoline you purchase was probably produced by the closest refinery, independent of brand.

Before retiring, I ran a marketing engineering and terminal department for one of the largest oil companies in the world, which, hopefully, adds a little credence to what I am saying.

Originally Posted by Petza914

Exactly, just watch the truck that is filling the in-ground tanks at one station, stop at the next one up the road, then the one after that, filling multiple stations tanks from the same fuel load.