GULF OIL CORPORATION.

The modified Guffey livery was retained until the 1950s: the flag remained red but had a white Roman-style G instead of the earlier block letter. Afran Transport also used this livery.

The orange-disc trademark registered in 1920 had Gulf in shaded blue block letters. In 1963 a white centre made the word clearer while orange remained at the top and bottom.

Loughran dates G102 to 1957–July 1964, whereas Mitchell dates G101 to 1962 under the Belgian company. Loughran illustrates the disc yellow but specifies orange. The letters are shown shaded white, though Brown 1958 specifies black for G102 and Brown 1978 shows black for G101. Ocean Ships calls the G102 funnel blue-grey, with an uncertain illustration identification noted by Rosanoski; black-and-white photographs of Gulf Italian and Begulf Enterprise confirm G102. Marinart calls G101’s funnel haze grey. The G101 FOTW flag follows a photograph in a 1970s US Merchant Marine Academy yearbook.

Gulf Refining was formed in 1901 to refine and market J.M. Guffey Petroleum’s oil and was a steamship owner from that year. In 1907 Mellon bought out Guffey and reorganised the enterprise: accounts differ between Andrew and William Mellon and between Gulf Oil Company, Gulf Oil Corporation and Gulf Oil Refining Corporation as the resulting name. Gulf expanded through Eastern Gulf Oil in 1922, Paragon Refining in 1929 and the Kuwait Oil joint venture with Anglo-Iranian in 1934, when it sold its Iraq Petroleum interest to Socal. Warren Petroleum was acquired in 1955 or 1956 in differing accounts, followed in 1963 by Spencer Chemical and P&M Coal Mining. Financial difficulties and a threatened takeover preceded the 1984 acquisition by Standard Oil of California, subsequently Chevron. The merger of the Chevron and Gulf fleets was announced in May 1985.

The maritime group included Afran Bahamas, Afran Transport, Argo Tankers, Fuel Transport, Compañia Maritima Gulf and Refineria de Petroleos del Norte, with Netherlands-flag Nedgulf Tankers also recorded. Gulf controlled Venezuela Gulf Oil and managed the US-flag subsidiaries Blackships and Delships. Gulf Trading & Transportation acted for Afran and Gulf Oil Marine Agency; Gulf Refining & Marketing later managed part of the parent fleet. Many vessels used the Gulf prefix.

USA: New York, Pittsburgh and later Philadelphia.