A message from the Alabama Petroleum Marketing Industry
Members of Petroleum & Convenience Marketers of Alabama are probably best known for their convenience store locations. Say names like Circle-K, MAPCO, and yes, even Buc-ee’s, and just about everyone in Alabama knows the industry you’re talking about. What many don’t know is that Alabama wholesalers, commonly known in the industry as “jobbers,” provide vital products far beyond the retail gallon of gasoline or diesel.
According to Wikipedia:
A employee, or oil seller, is a person or company that buys quantities of refined fuel from refining companies (eg, Chevron, Exxon, Shell), either to sell to retailers (eg, grocery stores convenience or gas stations) or to sell directly to users of these products (eg, home heating oil for homeowners, lubricating oils for industrial operations or aircraft fuel repair shops at FBOs, etc. ). In essence, the worker acts as a “middleman” between the company that refines the petroleum products and those that use them or sell them at retail prices. The worker often owns the gas being sold and the station at which it is sold, but allows an operator to rent the store.
With more than 225 companies, P&CMA members represent more than 80% of petroleum product sales statewide, and some members have nothing to do with retail convenience stores. In addition to wholesale gasoline and diesel, these companies offer products that include lubricating oils, hydraulic fluids, specialty greases, and antifreezes.
Wholesale customers include government entities such as police and fire departments, as well as school systems, but wholesale oil customers also span a variety of other industries. Alabama industries, where specialty lubricants designed to ensure equipment runs efficiently and is maintained properly, include gigantic draglines in surface mines; mass production lines in steel and iron manufacturers; fleets of equipment in construction works and highways; aviation and jet fuels at airports, as well as gasoline and diesel for its vehicle fleets; agriculture, where diesel and lubricants are needed; harvesting of wood and forest products; and an endless list of other situations, all dependent on fuels and petroleum products.
More recently, there has been tremendous growth in the automobile manufacturing industry in Alabama. Along with these production plants, there is a great need for special lubricants and hydraulic fluids, as well as fats and oils of various types. There is even a P&CMA member who supplies one of the most unusual products in the industry, a lubricant for the rail industry that is applied to track curves. This special grease saves railroads money on diesel fuel and wear and tear on rails and wheels. It’s a very narrow niche, but this particular member supplies the product from St. Louis to Massachusetts and from Miami to New Orleans.
Despite what you may be hearing, oil and petroleum products remain a major and much-needed part of Alabama’s (and the United States’) economy.
According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), this is a list of petroleum products and their share of total US oil consumption.
- Gasoline 46%
- Heating oil / diesel 20%
- Jet fuel (kerosene) 8%
- Propane / Propylene 7%
- NGL/LRG 6%
- still gas 4%
- Petrochemical raw materials 2%
- petroleum coke 2%
- Residual/heavy diesel 2%
- Asphalt/road oil 2%
- Lubricants 1%
A recent nationwide online survey revealed that 72 percent of the American public does not know that conventional plastic is made from petroleum products, primarily petroleum. While some may assume this is common knowledge, it apparently falls into the category of useless trivia in most people’s brains. Here are some additional products that are made, at least in part, from petroleum-based components:
- Clothing fibers
- Golf bags and golf balls
- Roofing materials
- painting
- Sunglasses
- Heart valves
- Carpet fibers
Oil and petroleum products both “fuel” and “drive” Alabama’s economic engine. Alabama Fuel and Convenience Marketers are proud to supply these products and will continue to “Fueling Alabama” for years to come.
