SINCLAIR OIL

'Sinclair Oil' is an American petroleum corporation, founded by Harry F. Sinclair on May 1, 1916, by combining the assets of eleven small petroleum companies. Originally a New York corporation, Sinclair Oil was reincorporated in Wyoming in 1976.^[1] The corporation's logo features the silhouette of a large green dinosaur.

Contents

History

Sinclair, A Great Name In Oil (1916-1969)

Sinclair and Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) (1969-1976)

Sinclair and Earl Holding (1976-Present)

References to Sinclair in popular culture

See also

External links

Notes

History

Sinclair has a long history of being a fixture on American roads (and briefly in other countries) with its dinosaur logo and mascot, an apatosaurus (''brontosaurus'').

Sinclair, A Great Name In Oil (1916-1969)

At the Chicago World's Fair of 1933-34, Sinclair sponsored a dinosaur exhibit meant to point out the correlation between the formation of petroleum deposits and the Age of Dinosaurs, and included a two-ton animated model of a brontosaur. The exhibit proved so popular it inspired a promotional line of rubber brontosaurs at Sinclair stations, complete with wiggling heads and tails, and the eventual inclusion of the brontosaur logo. Later, inflatable dinosaurs were given as promotional items and an anthropomorphic version appeared as a station attendant in advertisements.
In 1955, Sinclair was #21 on the Fortune 500, but by 1969, it had fallen to #58.^[2]

Sinclair and Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) (1969-1976)

In 1969, Sinclair was acquired by the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO). Federal anti-trust provisions required the new entity to divest itself of certain of the Sinclair assets, and as a result, the East Coast operations of Sinclair were sold to BP (Ironically, BP has since purchased ARCO). After the acquisition by ARCO, the dinosaur was phased out, but at least one service station, in Winona, Minnesota, retained the original look through the 1980s.

Sinclair and Earl Holding (1976-Present)

In 1976, ARCO spun-off Sinclair by selling certain assets to Earl Holding. Assets divested in the spin-off included ARCO's retail operations from the region between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, and the rights to the Sinclair brand and logo, resulting in many stations along Interstate 80 keeping the dinosaur logo.
Sinclair has been owned by the Holdings since 1976. Earl Holding also owns Sun Valley Resort in Idaho, Snowbasin Resort in Utah, the Little America hotels, the Westgate Hotel in San Diego, California, and the Grand America Hotel, a five-diamond hotel and member of the Leading Hotels of the World, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Currently headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, Sinclair ranks #38 among the largest private companies in the United States.^[3] There are 2,607 Sinclair gas stations in 20 states in the western U.S. and the Midwest. The corporation operates three refineries: one in Casper, Wyoming, one in Sinclair, Wyoming (near Rawlins), and another in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Other operations include 1,000 miles of pipeline.
Sinclair continues to use the green dinosaur, affectionately called "Dino", and markets all its products under the logo. Sinclair patented the gasoline additive SG-2000. The high-octane fuel blend is called "Dino Supreme".
Sinclair is recognized by the Terror-Free Oil Initiative as one of the few filling stations that does not buy oil from terrorism-sponsoring states such as those in the Middle East.[3]

References to Sinclair in popular culture

★ In the animatronic TV series ''Dinosaurs'', the last name of Earl and his family is ''Sinclair'', after the oil company. A number of other characters on the show also had names that were petroleum-related references, such as Earl's boss "B.P. Richfield".

★ In the 2006 movie ''Cars'', Sinclair and Sunoco were parodied: the main sponsorship for the winning car was from a company called "Dinoco", using a similar logo to Sinclair's brontosaurus and name to that of Sunoco. Dinoco was earlier the name of the gas station in ''Toy Story'', another Pixar production.

★ In the computer game ''Interstate '76'', one of the fictitious gas station chains was named "Sincere" and featured an armadillo on his logo instead of the dinosaur.

★ Metal drummer Joey Jordison of Slipknot worked there.

See also

★ Convenience store

★ Gas station

★ Gasoline

★ List of automotive fuel brands

★ List of oil-producing states

★ OPEC

★ Palmer, Bradley

★ Petroleum

★ Teapot Dome scandal

External links

★ Sinclair Oil Corporation

★ Sinclair Dinoland Exhibit

★ The Grand America Hotel

★ Little America Hotels & Resorts, Inc.

★ The Westgate Hotel

★ Sun Valley Resort

★ Snowbasin Ski Resort

Notes

1. Wyoming Secretary of State, Corporations Division. Search keyword = Sinclair. 2nd page. CID 198000134254. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
2. [1] Retrieved March 29, 2007.
3. [2] Retrieved March 29, 2007.