View source for Tidewater Oil Company

{{Short description|Defunct petroleum refining company}}
{{redirect|Veedol|the airplane|Miss Veedol}}
{{Refimprove|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Tidewater Oil Company
| logo = Tydol Gasoline.svg
| logo_size = 120
| type = [[Privately held company|Private]]
| industry = [[Petroleum industry|Petroleum]]
| predecessor = <!-- or: | predecessors = -->
| founded = {{start date and age|1887}} in [[New York City]]
| founder = [[E. W. Marland]]
| defunct = {{end date and age|1966}}
| fate = Acquired by [[Phillips Petroleum Company|Phillips Petroleum Co.]], then sold to others
| successor = <!-- or: | successors = -->
| hq_location = Harbor Building, 4201 Wilshire Blvd
| hq_location_city = [[Los Angeles, California]]
| key_people =
| products =
| owner = [[Andrew Yule and Company|Andrew Yule & Co.]]
| parent = Tide Water India
| brands = {{collapsible list|
* Tydol
* Flying A
* Veedol
}}
| num_employees =
| num_employees_year = <!-- Year of num_employees data (if known) -->
| website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
}}
'''Tidewater Oil Company''' (rendered as "Tide Water Oil Company" from 1887 to 1936) was a major [[petroleum]] refining company during the early 20th century.  Tidewater was sold many times during its existence. Brands included '''Tydol''', '''Flying A''', and '''Veedol'''.
The Veedol brand was owned by [[BP|British Petroleum]] until 2011, when Veedol was sold by BP to Tidewater India. Now it is part of [[Andrew Yule and Company|Andrew Yule]] Indian group and manufactures automotive oil for the Indian market. Tidewater does not have its own refinery, so it is dependent on base oil suppliers like HPCL and BPCL, It manufactures a wide range of automotive lubricants.
== History ==
[[File:US-NJ(1891) p564 BAYONNE, THE TIDE-WATER OIL COMPANY.jpg|thumb|left|Tide Water plant in 1891]]
Tide Water was founded in [[New York City]] in 1887. The company entered the [[gasoline]] market and by 1920 was selling gasoline, oil and other products on the [[East Coast of the United States]] under its "Tydol" brand.
In 1926, control of Tide Water Oil sold out to a new holding company, Tide Water Associated Oil Company, which also acquired a controlling interest in California’s [[Associated Oil Company]]. Soon thereafter, [[Exxon|Standard Oil Company of New Jersey]] took control of the company. ''Flying A'' became the primary brand name for the company, though the Tydol and Associated names were also retained in their respective marketing areas.
Tidewater Oil Company operated a fleet of oil [[Tanker (ship)|tankers]]. During [[World War II]], it [[Chartering (shipping)|chartered]] ships to the [[Maritime Commission]] and [[War Shipping Administration]] and operated [[T2 tanker]]s to support the war effort.<ref>[http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/20/2016.htm navsource MS Veedol II]</ref> Ships included: [[USS Guyandot (AOG-16)|USS ''Guyandot'' (AOG-16)]], [[SS Byron D. Benson|SS ''Byron D. Benson'']], [[SS Samuel Q. Brown]], Falls of Clyde, and others.
[[File:Fitzpatrick's Inc., De Soto -- Plymouth. Factory Street, Ansonia, Conn. Phone 4-3118. We make service a science (85017).jpg|thumb| Automobile dealership featuring Tydol gasoline pumps, {{circa|1952}}]]
During the 1950s, the Associated and Tydol brands gradually fell into disuse, and were dropped entirely in 1956.
In 1966, [[Phillips Petroleum Company]] (now [[ConocoPhillips]]) purchased Tidewater's western refining, distribution and retailing network. Phillips immediately rebranded all Flying A stations in the region to [[Phillips 66]]. On the East Coast that year, American-born British petrol-industrialist [[J. Paul Getty]] merged his numerous oil interests into [[Getty Oil|Getty Oil Company]], and Tidewater Oil was dropped as a corporate brand. The Flying A brand continued to be used on the East Coast until 1970, when stations and products were renamed Getty.
In 2000, [[BP]] acquired the Veedol brand when it bought [[Burmah Oil|Burmah-Castrol]]. In February 2011, BP offered to sell the Veedol brand, which was purchased that October by Tide Water India, part of the [[Andrew Yule and Company]] Indian subsidiary.<ref>[https://www.livemint.com/Companies/TEikI7ErVJkDy96ye98tLM/Tide-Water-buys-rights-to-Veedol-trademark.html Tide Water buys rights to Veedol trademark] on Live Mint, 2011</ref>
==See also==
*[[Bayonne refinery strikes of 1915–1916]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://www.tidewaterindia.com Tide Water Oil Co. of India]
* [https://digital.hagley.org/70_200_10628 1938 aerial photo] of Tydol facility in West Philadelphia
{{Phillips 66}}
[[Category:Defunct oil companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Texaco]]
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