Pennzoil

Pennzoil is an American motor oil brand currently owned by Shell plc. The former Pennzoil Company had been established in 1913 in Pennsylvania, being active in business as an independent firm until it was acquired by Shell in 2002, becoming a brand of the conglomerate.

== History == === Beginning and expansion === Origins of the company can be traced to the South Penn Oil Company, an oil business started in Oil City, Pennsylvania by Michael Late Benedum and Joe Trees in May 1889 as a unit of Standard Oil. It became the largest oil producer in the region, becoming independent when Standard Oil was split in 1911. By those times, two companies, one on the East Coast and another on the West (founded in 1908 and 1913, respectively) started to market their motor oils under the brand Pennzoil. Their refineries and distributors were later incorporated as "The Pennzoil Company" in 1925. In July 1926, South Penn acquired a 51% controlling interest which by June 1955 had risen to 88% when shareholders voted to exchange remaining shares 1:1 for South Penn stock and merge Pennzoil, the refining and marketing subsidiary, into South Penn Oil.