Hawaii’s 58 Chevron gas stations will sport the Texaco logo later this year, as part of Chevron U.S.A. Inc. selling its Hawaii oil operations to private-equity firm One Rock Capital Partners LP.
Island Energy Services LLC, a subsidiary of New York-based One Rock, said Tuesday it is set to buy Chevron’s refinery in Kapolei, retail service stations, a network of pipelines and related port facilities on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and Hawaii island. Representatives from the companies said they expect the sale to close this year. They would not reveal the sale price.
Frank Young, former Chevron dealer and former chairman of the Petroleum Advisory Council, said the sale could be good for Hawaii’s drivers.
“We’re all using the same gas,” Young said. “This might be good for the consumers because you have a lot of smaller players now in the market. None of the majors own the refinery anymore. (One Rock) may be willing to sell to more people and be more competitive on wholesale.”
Hawaii’s only other refinery was sold in 2013 when Houston-based Par Petroleum Corp. purchased it from Tesoro, along with Tesoro’s chain of 31 gas stations and other assets.
“Look what happened when Par bought Tesoro,” Young said. “Tesoro now is a more competitive location as a whole because they are pricing more aggressively than the old Tesoro. They are the lowest on the street.”
Hawaii had the second-highest average gasoline price in the nation Tuesday at $2.61 per gallon, according to AAA. California was the highest at $2.78.
Chevron’s new owner, One Rock, said none of Chevron Hawaii’s 300 employees will lose their jobs due to the sale.
Island Energy Services will be headquartered in Hawaii. Because it will be a stand-alone business in the state, it will provide opportunity for additional hires to take up functions currently handled at Chevron’s corporate headquarters, said Albert Chee, spokesman for Chevron Hawaii. New positions would be added over the next four to six months.
Representatives from One Rock met with the Chevron employees Tuesday after announcing the buyout. The company will be meeting with Chevron’s employees throughout the rest of this week.
“Island Energy Services’ ownership group, One Rock, was carefully selected due to its strong operating experience and commitment to the future success of the Hawaii business,” said Dale Walsh, president of Chevron Americas Products, in a statement.
This is the first Hawaii investment for the New York-based capital investment firm.
The Chevron-based gas stations will be converted to the Texaco brand when the transaction is finalized. There were 15 Texaco gas stations in Hawaii in 1998 when Texaco formed a joint venture with Shell and the Texaco stations were changed to Shell stations. Chevron and Texaco merged in 2001.
There will be no changes to Chevron’s customer loyalty program or the credit card program, a One Rock spokesman said. Customers will still be able to use their Chevron credit card after the stations change to Texaco. The existing Safeway- Chevron loyalty program will become a Safeway-Texaco loyalty program.
The companies said there are no planned changes to the stations, convenience stores or car washes. All stations under construction, including the station on Kauai at Hokulei Village, will move forward as planned.
The acquisition will also not affect Chevron’s contract with Hawaiian Electric Co. Chevron Corp. is the primary fuel provider for HECO. HECO spokesman Darren Pai said that the contract would be transferred to the new owners.
Chevron’s Kapolei plant has the capacity to process more than 50,000 barrels of crude daily.
One Rock said it does not have plans to end the refinery operations.
“The refinery is an important part of the Hawaii energy landscape, delivering mission-critical refined products to the Islands’ utilities, airlines and motorists,” One Rock said in a statement.
Leaders in the energy community welcomed the sale.
“The sale demonstrates that there is value in Hawaii and companies continue to invest here,” said Gov. David Ige in a statement. “We look forward to working with One Rock Capital Partners to ensure price and supply stability as well as a smooth transition for Chevron employees, Hawaii businesses and the general public.”