Tag Archives: fuel

Sunoco: One of the Strongest Brands

Sunoco-980x607Countywide Petroleum Company is now branding gas-station/c-stores Sunoco, and is proud to supply Sunoco branded gasoline.

According to Bob Owens, President and CEO of Sunoco, “We completed our merger of Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco and have now officially started down the road of creating the best retail company in America. We look forward to traveling that road with you. In the past few months there has been a lot of inaccurate media noise. We have no intention of selling the business, and here’s why: Sunoco is one of the strongest brands in America. Sunoco means performance and reliability and Sunoco’s racing partnerships as the Official Fuel of NASCAR demonstrates this every week more powerfully than any other brand can and those partnerships are set to last for years to come. Sunoco is strong and stable. Sunoco is committed to being an excellent business partner that has delivered outstanding financial results with a high degree of consistency over the long term. This performance provides a great platform for continued growth. We intend to continue to do that to grow a bigger and better Sunoco branded network with every passing year.”

Countywide Petroleum Company wants its current dealers and prospective customers to know that due to a regional pipeline project, the Sunoco Youngstown Terminal is scheduled to shut down by the end of January 2013. There are no plans to convert this terminal to a natural gas facility. At the conclusion of the Allegheny Pipeline project in the later part of 2014, the Youngstown Terminal will open again as a gasoline terminal serving our branded customers. Sunoco’s supply department has adjusted supply to meet demand by adding access and inventory at the terminals in Aurora, Akron and Cleveland.

Common Diesel Additives

As diesel fuel is further refined to meet strict specifications, burn cleaner and reduce pollution, important properties are lost. Diesel fuel additives are designed to fill the void of the removed properties. The optimum quality and performance of diesel fuel can be supplemented, changed, improved, or enhanced depending on the additive used. These specifically formulated diesel additives may be added at the refinery, during distribution, at the terminal, by the marketer or the end-user customer. In whatever manner or way these additives are introduced, they have become essential in restoring some of the fuel’s quality characteristics lost in the refining process, and thereby improving the performance of vehicles and equipment. The following are some of the most commonly types of diesel additives.

FireEngine Performance Additives– The refining process removes some key properties when it comes to protecting the engine from wear and tear. When added to diesel fuel these additives are designed to extend the life of engine components.

  • Lubricants– While the newly mandated Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) is less polluting, the lower sulfur levels have inadvertently caused the removal of some of the compounds that provide lubricity to the diesel fuel. Lubrication is a necessary component of diesel fuel as it ensures protection against fuel pump and injector wear.
  • Cetane Number Improvers– Cetane Number is a measure of the readiness of a fuel to auto-ignite when injected into a diesel engine. Similar to octane boosters in gasoline, these additives influence ease of starting, duration of white smoking after start-up, drivability before warm-up, and intensity of diesel knock at idle.
  • Detergents– Diesel fuels, especially those low in sulfur, have a tendency to form carbon deposits on fuel injectors. These deposits can restrict fuel flow, interfere with the fuel spray pattern and give rise to higher smoke levels and decreased fuel economy. Detergent additives dissolve and help prevent carbon deposits from forming.

snowflakesLow-Temperature Flow and De-Icing Additives– The refining process used to produce ULSD fuel affects the naturally-occurring wax in diesel in such a way that it can cause the fuel to turn from liquid to gel more readily in cold temperatures. This can lead to plugged up fuel filters, engine stalls and cause potential damage to the fuel system.

  • Anti-Gel and De-Icing Additives– Using high quality fuel additives on a regular basis can help prevent icing and gelling and ensure trouble-free operation. These anti-gel and de-icing additives are designed to hinder wax particles from melding together to form larger wax flakes that can clog up the fuel filter. These additives must mix well with the diesel fuel and therefore must be added to ULSD when the fuel is still warm from the storage tanks.
  • Winter Blend– In markets that experience severe weather conditions, a special “winter” or “winterized” diesel is sold from December through the end of February. This winter blend is specially formulated and includes additives to prevent the diesel fuel from gelling in cold weather. The drawback of using this winter blend is that it is lower in viscosity, provides less lubrication for the fuel pump and fuel distributor, and is accompanied by a slight drop-off in fuel economy.

Countywide Petroleum Company adds appropriate year-round diesel additives, such as Power Service Products, to provide trouble free winter operation and improve diesel engine performance.