BP Gas now "Top Tier"

[robl]

Hey folks. I haven't been reading the boards in awhile. I used to be on here daily. Loved it. Still do! Well, I was browsing and saw BP is now Top Tier. (at least listed now) I know they have always been up there, but never advertised it that way. Anyone know when this took place? When they finally caved in and went Top Tier?


http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

 

[RamFan]

A couple months ago iirc.

 

[97tbird]

old news.
old thread when it happened:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3055989/1

 

[Lead Shoes]

Originally Posted By: robl
Hey folks. I haven't been reading the boards in awhile. I used to be on here daily. Loved it. Still do! Well, I was browsing and saw BP is now Top Tier. (at least listed now) I know they have always been up there, but never advertised it that way. Anyone know when this took place? When they finally caved in and went Top Tier?


http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html


Since you're in this neck of the woods, have you noticed the trend of BP stations turning into shell stations outside the metro? I know of 5 on my adventures that were BP and are now Shell.

 

[Turk]

Originally Posted By: Brenden
Originally Posted By: robl
Hey folks. I haven't been reading the boards in awhile. I used to be on here daily. Loved it. Still do! Well, I was browsing and saw BP is now Top Tier. (at least listed now) I know they have always been up there, but never advertised it that way. Anyone know when this took place? When they finally caved in and went Top Tier?


http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html


Since you're in this neck of the woods, have you noticed the trend of BP stations turning into shell stations outside the metro? I know of 5 on my adventures that were BP and are now Shell.


Also PDQ turning to Shell. The one east of you & north of me, on the "Knob".

 

[Bamaro]

BP claimed a couple of years ago that "Invigorate" met Top Tier standards. I didn't know whether to believe them or not. Now I do.

 

[accent2012]

BP was always Top Tier ever since they came out with Invigorate. It's the same stuff you find in Chevron and Shell.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: Bamaro
BP claimed a couple of years ago that "Invigorate" met Top Tier standards. I didn't know whether to believe them or not. Now I do.

It's not that hard to meet the standard per se. I was under the impression that a high treat level of most additives would likely be functionally adequate to meet the cleanliness standard. I think that the main issue is the cost of testing/licensing. While the testing is done by the additive supplier, I'm sure that an additive that's registered with the Top Tier program is going to cost more for the same level of performance. In a business where margins are razor thin, that's something that the marketer is going to have to think hard about doing.

 

[97tbird]

Originally Posted By: accent2012
BP was always Top Tier ever since they came out with Invigorate. It's the same stuff you find in Chevron and Shell.


And what is this 'stuff' exactly?
do you have a link or any other info what it is and proof that it's the same 'stuff' in Shell and Chevron?
Very curious.

Thanks I.A.

 

[accent2012]

I read on here it is similar to those in which it is PEA based.

 

[badtlc]

BP's additive levels were significantly more than Top Tier requirements before they joined. I fear now they might have lowered the levels and spent the saved money on TT licensing.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: 97tbird
Originally Posted By: accent2012
BP was always Top Tier ever since they came out with Invigorate. It's the same stuff you find in Chevron and Shell.


And what is this 'stuff' exactly?
do you have a link or any other info what it is and proof that it's the same 'stuff' in Shell and Chevron?
Very curious.

Thanks I.A.

While I doubt it's exactly the same, polyether amine based fuel detergents pretty much dominate the market these days. I think it might be better to say that it's functionally equivalent at the proper concentration, like the difference between 91 octane base fuel from different refineries.

You can check out the EPA's list of certified detergent additives for pump gasoline.

http://www.epa.gov/OTAQ/fuels/registrationfuels/web-detrg.htm

Chevron Products Company has a single entry for "Techron Gasoline Additive" although Chevron Oronite has a long list. I don't see BP (or several large oil companies) listed, so they likely purchase an additive with a Top Tier certification. Infineum is owned by Exxon-Mobil and Shell, and I'm guessing the additives used by them are among the four listed for Infineum USA LP. I suppose if you've got something that works well, you don't necessarily need to make 50 or 60 different variations like Lubrizol does.

Costco is public that their "Clean Power" additive is Lubrizol 9888, although there are variations for different seasons. I'm not sure if this is made specifically for Costco or just a standard offering that Costco chose to buy.

 

[Bamaro]

Originally Posted By: accent2012
BP was always Top Tier ever since they came out with Invigorate. It's the same stuff you find in Chevron and Shell.

No, they marketed with Invigorate for a few years before becoming Top Tier. Top Tier is a certification and BP didn't apply for it until recently. IOW, you are not Top Tier until Top Tier certifies that you are Top Tier.

 

[badtlc]

Originally Posted By: Bamaro
Originally Posted By: accent2012
BP was always Top Tier ever since they came out with Invigorate. It's the same stuff you find in Chevron and Shell.

No, they marketed with Invigorate for a few years before becoming Top Tier. Top Tier is a certification and BP didn't apply for it until recently. IOW, you are not Top Tier until Top Tier certifies that you are Top Tier.


I think his point was that the invigorate additives levels were well above TT's requirements making it better than TT standards even if they didn't have the licensing.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: Bamaro
Originally Posted By: accent2012
BP was always Top Tier ever since they came out with Invigorate. It's the same stuff you find in Chevron and Shell.

No, they marketed with Invigorate for a few years before becoming Top Tier. Top Tier is a certification and BP didn't apply for it until recently. IOW, you are not Top Tier until Top Tier certifies that you are Top Tier.

It's a bit more involved than that. The additive maker must run gasoline with the additive through a required series of tests via a certified testing lab and have those test results available. So it would be up to BP to either ask that whatever they used before has gone through these tests (and it could have been), buy an additive that's already been tested, or have an additive company make a custom additive for them and have that tested. Then they would have the test results in hand and would send that for review. Then they would have to sign a form attesting that they will only use detergents that they list on the form, along with the concentration that they will use. And after all that, there's a licensing fee per gas station.

As far as I know, there doesn't have to be a single detergent additive package for that license. I've seen the EPA list, and there are often detergents that differ only slightly in name, where it might just be a slightly different variation depending on the time of year. There might be an additive for winter blend fuel and one for hot summer climates.

 

[Durango]

Now that BP is part ofthe big club I now wonder about BP's Arco stations here in California. They now advertise valve/pistol engine clean capabilities.

Can it assumed that the quality of Arco is just as good????

Durango

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: Durango
Now that BP is part ofthe big club I now wonder about BP's Arco stations here in California. They now advertise valve/pistol engine clean capabilities.

Can it assumed that the quality of Arco is just as good????

Durango

BP sold off the Arco brand to Tesoro earlier this year. They haven't wiped the BP name from their company owned delivery trucks, and some station signs haven't been scrubbed of the BP name yet.

Quote:
Tesoro gets state and federal clearance to buy BP's Arco assets

However, it gets a bit more complicated because BP has licensed back the rights to the Arco name for Northern California, Oregon, and Washington.
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/17/business/la-fi-mo-bp-arco-tesoro-20130517

State and federal authorities cleared the way Friday for Tesoro Corp. to buy BP's Carson refinery, the Arco brand and other assets, and the Texas oil giant agreed to California restrictions on prices, jobs and retrofits to protect the environment.

The $2.5-billion deal, cut in the aftermath of the BP oil drilling disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, could be completed as early as June 1.


However, it gets more interesting as BP has licensed back the Arco name for Northen California, Oregon, and Washington.

Quote:
BP ARCO Stations Expected to Start Transition to Tesoro in June
http://www.csnews.com/top-story-m_a-bp_a...june-63668.html

As CSNews Online previously reported, BP will exclusively license the ARCO retail brand rights from Tesoro for northern California, Oregon and Washington and continue to produce transportation fuels at its Cherry Point, Wash., refinery. BP will also retain ownership of the ampm brand.

 

[mclasser]

We don't have any Chevron's out here and BP w/ Invigorate is what I run almost exclusively now in all my cars. I tend to get the best mileage with it and my I35 loves that Amoco 93.