 | |
| Industry | Petroleum Products |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1922 |
| Headquarters | Brentwood, Tennessee |
| Products | Petrochemical |
| Website | www.lionoil.com |
Lion Oil Company is a private corporation engaged in refining and production of oil, gasoline, and oil-based products. It also manufactures asphalt, industrial solvents and roofing materials.[1] It also operates a gathering and transportation system that moves oil products in interstate commerce.[2] The company is based in Arkansas.
Lion Oil Company was established in 1922. Thomas Harry (Colonel) Barton was instrumental in the development of the company.[3] He joined the organization as a major stockholder in 1928 and was elected president and director. His tenure saw the expansion of Lion Oil with the addition of holdings in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.[4] In Arkansas, it owned three large petroleum companies, including 400 hundred service stations.[4]
In 1955, Lion Oil was sold to the Monsanto Company along with what is now El Dorado Chemical Company. Lion Oil is the only oil refinery Monsanto has owned.[citation needed] This purchase was part of Monsanto's move to enter the petroleum industry after major oil companies, which supplied it with feedstocks, began their own commodity chemical divisions.[5] Lion Oil was later sold by Monsanto to Tosco.[citation needed]
In 1985, Lion was struggling and on the verge of shutting down and was sold by Tosco to a partnership of Ergon Refining of Jackson, Mississippi, and a group of local investors. This is how it acquired the oil refinery in El Dorado, Arkansas.[6]
In March 2011, Delek US Holdings, Inc. of Brentwood, Tennessee acquired Ergon’s 53.7% majority equity interest; total equity ownership by Delek increased to 88.3%; on April 29, 2011 Delek US became the new operator of Lion Oil.[7]
In October 2011, Delek US Holdings, Inc. acquired the remaining 11.7% interest to increase its equity interest in Lion Oil to 100%.[8]
Lion Oil continues as a petroleum supplier with its headquarters in Brentwood.