Paz Oil Company Ltd. ( he, פז חברת הנפט בע"מ) () is the largest Israeli fuels

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

. Paz distributes gasoline and other petroleum products through a network of gas stations, as well as LPG and natural gas 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, under the name Shell Palestine. In 1957 Shell decided to withdraw from Israel under economic pressure from Arab countries. In 1958, the company changed to the ownership of the Briton Isaac Wolfson and the

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Nahmias brothers and changed its name to Paz Petroleum Company Ltd. The symbol of the company, a yellow triangle, still resembles that of Shell. Wolfson sold his company holdings in 1981 to the State of Israel, who sold it in 1988 to the

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. Since 1999, the Israeli businessman

Zadik Bino Zadik Bino ( he, צדיק בינו; born 1943) is an Israeli businessman. In 2018, Zadik Bino 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, B ...

owns 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, ( he, בורגראנץ') 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 late 2001, Paz completed the acquisition of Burger Ranch, 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 Oil Refinery ( he, פז בית זיקוק אשדוד) 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, ...

with a

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3.5 billion bid, from

Oil Refineries Ltd BAZAN Group, (ORL or BAZAN, ), formerly Oil Refineries Ltd., 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 approximatel ...

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

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 B ...

. On 5 July 2021, Norway's largest pension fund

KLP KLP may refer to: *Kommunal Landspensjonskasse, Norwegian mutual insurance company * KLP Eiendom, Norwegian real estate management company *KLP (musician), Australian singer-songwriter, record producer, DJ and radio personality * Kamasa language, IS ...

said it would divest from Paz Oil as it helped to power Israeli settlements in the West Bank. 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 based in Netanya