Paz Oil Company Ltd. () () is the largest

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

fuels A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

. Paz distributes

gasoline Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...

and other

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

products through a network of gas stations, as well as LPG and

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

for home use (cooking and heating) through its subsidiary PazGaz. Paz operates combined cafes and stores in many gas stations, through its subsidiary Yellow. It also owns the supermarket chains Freshmarket and Super Yuda.

History

Foundation, names, and ownership in the 20th century

Paz was founded in 1922 as Anglo-Asiatic Petroleum. From 1927, it operated as part of

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...

under the name Shell Palestine. In 1957, Shell decided to withdraw from Israel due to economic pressure from Arab countries. In 1958, the company changed to the ownership of the

Briton British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, w ...

Isaac Wolfson Sir Isaac Wolfson, 1st Baronet FRS (; 17 September 1897 – 20 June 1991) was a Scottish businessman and philanthropist. He was managing director of Great Universal Stores (G.U.S. or Gussies) 1932–1947 and chairman 1947–1987. He establish ...

and the

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Nahmias brothers, and it was renamed Paz Petroleum Company Ltd. The company's symbol, a yellow triangle, still resembles that of Shell. Wolfson sold his holdings in the company in 1981 to the State of Israel, which sold it in 1988 to the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Jack Liberman Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, inclu ...

. Since 1999, the Israeli businessman

Zadik Bino Zadik Bino (; born 1943) is an Israeli businessman. In 2018, he ranked #1867 on the ''Forbes'' World's Billionaires list, with wealth listed at US$1.2 billion. Early life and education Of Iraqi Jewish descent, Bino was born in Iraq. Care ...

has owned the majority of the shares, with the Liberman family and other groups holding minority interests.

Investments and market reach in the 21st century

In 1999, Paz acquired 74 percent of the Israeli fast-food chain

Burger Ranch Burgeranch, also known as Burger Ranch, () is an Israeli fast-food chain. In 2010, the Burgeranch chain included 107 restaurants with over 1500 employees, competing primarily with McDonald's Israel and Burger King Israel. In October 2014 the ...

. In late 2001, Paz completed the acquisition, becoming 100 percent owners of the chain. New branches of Burger Ranch were opened at Paz gas stations. In 2006, Paz sold the chain to the Israeli businessman Yossi Hoshinski. In August 2006, Paz won a tender to acquire the

Ashdod Oil Refineries Ashdod Refinery Ltd. () situated in the coastal city of Ashdod is the second largest oil refinery in Israel (behind Haifa's oil refinery). It is located in the industrial zone in the northern part of the city, nearby the Port of Ashdod. As of 201 ...

with a NIS 3.5 billion bid, from

Oil Refineries Ltd BAZAN Group (BAZAN, ), formerly Oil Refineries Ltd. (ORL), is an oil refining and petrochemicals company located in Haifa Bay, Israel. It operates the largest oil refinery in the country. ORL has a total oil refining capacity of approximately 9 ...

; which was forced to break its monopoly on oil refining in

. The acquisition made Paz Israel's most powerful energy company and its owner Zadik Bino the industry's most powerful figure. In 2012, Paz held 30% of the Israeli fuel market and 31% of the Israeli gas stations. On 12 February 2020, Paz Oil was listed on the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

list of companies operating in West Bank settlements This is a list of companies operating in West Bank settlements, compiled by the UN Human Rights Council and published by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Israeli settlements in the occupied territory of the West ...

. On 5 July 2021,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

's largest pension fund KLP said it would divest from Paz Oil as it helped to power Israeli settlements in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. In March 2021, Paz acquired the Super Yuda supermarket chain for 170 million NIS. In August that year, it also acquired the Freshmarket chain.

Operations

Retail and Wholesale

* 260 filling stations across Israel * 255 Yellow convenience stores * Pazgas - Israel’s largest gas company, supplying LPG to over half a million customers

Refining and Logistics

Industries and Services

* Paz Aviation * Paz Solar * Paz Lubricants & Chemicals * Pazkar – manufacturer of bituminous products, waterproofing membranes, coatings and adhesives

References

{{Authority control Filling stations in Israel Oil and gas companies of Israel Israeli brands Companies listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Companies in the TA-35 Index Companies based in Netanya