The familiar sunburst logo on BP gas stations will set for the last time in Colorado by the end of this year.
BP, formerly British Petroleum, said Tuesday it has reached a deal to sell half of its 100 Colorado stations and will take the BP brand off the other half by the end of December. Many of the stations operated as Amoco outlets before the two companies merged in 1998.
Denver-based K&G Petroleum LLC, a gasoline retailer, will buy the 50 stations owned by BP. The other 50, owned by independent dealers with BP franchise agreements, will take down their BP sign age and operate as independents or enter into franchise agreements with other major brands.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but petroleum-industry analysts said the 50 BP-owned stations – many of them recently renovated in an expensive image makeover – may be worth about $100 million.
K&G operates several Conoco and Shell stations in Colorado. K&G officials could not be reached to comment on their plans for the BP stations they are buying.
BP said it is vacating the Colorado retail market as part of a national effort to focus on larger markets closer to BP refineries in the Southeast and Midwest and on the West Coast.
“Ever since we closed the (Amoco) refinery in Wyoming in the 1980s, we have not had a proprietary supply of gasoline in the Colorado market,” said BP spokesman Jack Rigg. “That means the Colorado market was relatively isolated and relatively small for us.”
The departure of BP is the loss of a big name but should have no economic impact on the Colorado market with new ownership by K&G, said Stan Dempsey Jr., president of the Colorado Petroleum Association.
“It’s sad for consumers with brand loyalty to Amoco and BP,” he said, “but keeping the stations open is good for consumer choice and healthy competition.”
Staff writer Steve Raabe can be reached at 303-820-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com.
