Getty Name Resurfaces on East Coast

Getty Oil, the giant Los Angeles-based oil company, was purchased by Texaco for $10.1 billion last year and exists no more. Right? Well, almost. Power Test, a Plainview, N.Y., gasoline retailer that bought most of Getty’s East Coast gas stations from Texaco, changed its name Thursday to Getty Petroleum.

“The Getty trademark has national and international recognition and is an established symbol of quality,” Leo Liebowitz, president of the new Getty Petroleum, told shareholders Thursday after they approved the name change. A Power Test spokesman added: “More people know the name Getty than Power Test.” The new name will take effect July 11.

Power Test bought the Getty trademark and name, along with 321 gas stations, from Texaco for $95 million. Included in the deal were leases and supply contracts for another 1,500 Getty stations. After the purchase, stations with the Getty name outnumber Power Test stations by a 4-to-1 margin. About half of the 400 Power Test stations will be renamed Getty by next February. It costs between $5,000 and $10,000 to convert a station, officials said.

Texaco said the 30 Eastern stations that it retained have already been renamed Texaco. But there are some Texaco-owned stations still flying the Getty flag in the Midwest. “We’ll have them converted to Texaco soon,” a Texaco spokesman said.