The Gulf brand has a strong association with fuel retail that stretches back over a hundred years. In 1913, Gulf created the world’s first drive through service station in Pittsburgh USA with the aim of creating a value addition service for the growing number of motorists on the road. This pioneering spirit then continued for the Gulf brand and soon moved to the concept of branding sites with the distinctive orange disc that forms part of the Gulf logo today. In the 1960’s this innovative approach to the industry continued in the form of high profile marketing campaigns and associations that centred on popular culture. These included sponsorships of NBC News, Walt Disney’s ‘Wonderful World of Color’ programme and most notably the Apollo moon landings.

Gulf Oil International Group’s service station network today has grown to over 1100 sites in 25 countries, spreading across Europe, the Middle East and South America. All Gulf sites are independently owned and managed but licensed by Gulf and thus united under the distinctive orange disc logo. The licensing process is on the basis of becoming an official Gulf retail distributor for a geographical territory, with the right to use the Gulf brand for networks and retail related activity.