Elf Aquitaine

Last updated
Elf Aquitaine
Company type Société anonyme
Industry Petroleum
PredecessorMineralöl- und Asphaltwerke  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Defunct2000;24 years ago (2000)
FateMerged to TotalEnergies in 2000, becoming a brand
Successor TotalEnergies   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Headquarters
Courbevoie, Hauts-de-Seine, Île-de-France
,
France
Area served
Worldwide
Products Gasoline, motor oils, natural gas, brake fluids
Parent TotalEnergies
Website elf.com

Elf Aquitaine is a French brand of oils and other motor products (such as brake fluids) for automobiles and trucks. Elf is a former petroleum company which merged with TotalFina to form "TotalFinaElf". The new company changed its name to Total in 2003 and TotalEnergies in 2021. Elf has been as a major brand of TotalEnergies since then.

Contents

History

Founding and mergers (1965–1993)

Elf Aquitaine's heritage is rooted among three French oil companies: Régie Autonome des Pétroles (RAP), Société Nationale des Pétroles d'Aquitaine (SNPA), and Bureau de Recherches de Pétroles (BRP). These companies were formed to exploit the discovery of a gas field in Saint-Marcet in the Aquitaine region of south-western France. In December 1965, RAP and BRP were merged to form Entreprise de Recherches et d'Activités Pétrolières (ERAP). ERAP had SNPA, Union Générale des Pétroles (UGP), and Union Industrielle des Pétroles (UIP) as subsidiaries. The resulting company achieved vertical integration, owning assets in all phases of the petrol business from exploration and production to the filling station.

On April 28, 1967, the company's disparate brands and products were unified under the Elf brand, Essence Lubricants France.[ citation needed ] Elf was the first company to pioneer a completely synthetic racing oil.

In 1973, the subsidiary SNPA set up a pharmaceuticals subsidiary called Sanofi and acquired the pharmaceutical groups Labaz, Castaigne, and Robilliart, and also bought interests in a cosmetics company. [1] : 296  In 1976, Elf-ERAP merged with Antar Pétroles de l'Atlantique and became Société Nationale Elf Aquitaine (SNEA), later Elf Aquitaine. [2]

Hoax and merger (1979–1981)

Elf Aquitaine lost over US$150 million in the 1979 Great Oil Sniffer Hoax to develop a new "gravity wave-based oil detection system", which was later revealed to be a scam.

In 1981, Elf Aquitaine bought Texasgulf for $3 billion, despite a request by the US government to postpone the merger for time to study the implications. At the time, Texasgulf was the largest producer of sulphur in the world, with Elf Aquitaine gaining majority control. Texasgulf was over one-third owned by the government of Canada. [3] Elf Aquitaine was listed on the NYSE in 1991. In 1993, Elf was awarded the exclusive contract to the Iraqi oil fields by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. [2]

Fraud scandal (1994)

The Elf scandal which came to light in 1994 in France was according to The Guardian , 'the biggest fraud inquiry in Europe since the Second World War... Elf became a private bank for executives who spent £200 million on political favours, mistresses, jewellery, fine art, villas and apartments'. [4] Iraqi-born Nadhmi Auchi, at that time rumoured to be among the ten richest men in Britain, received a 15-month suspended sentence and a £1.5m fine for his involvement taking illegal commissions. [5] Auchi was also linked to the Clearstream scandal. He is BNP Paribas bank's main private share-holder; and until 2001, the money for the Oil-for-Food programme transited through the escrow account of BNP Paribas. [4] Magistrate Eva Joly investigated the case. In the Leuna/Minol deal following German reunification, Elf Aquitaine took over circa 2,500 vacated gas station allottments in the former East Germany without paying the rightful owners.[ citation needed ]

Merger and Total S.A. (1996–2022)

In 1996, the French government sold its stake, retaining a golden share. In 2000, Elf Aquitaine merged with Total Fina to form TotalFinaElf, which changed its name to Total in 2003.

Legal investigations into the company continued after it was purchased by Totalfina. [6]

Automobile and motorcycle partnerships

Elf Aquitaine is an official recommended fuel and motor oil for all Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance marques (including Renault (shared with BP, Aral, and Castrol), Nissan, Dacia, Datsun, Alpine, Venucia, Renault Korea Motors and Infiniti) and Brough Superior for automobiles only as well as Kawasaki for motorcycles only.

Motorsports

Renault RS10 Formula One car in 1979 Renault RS10 1979.jpg
Renault RS10 Formula One car in 1979

From its very beginnings, Elf used motor racing as a means of promotion. It began with a four-year association with Matra in a French Formula Three program. This resulted in Henri Pescarolo winning the title. The European Formula Two Championship fell to Matra the following year with Jean-Pierre Beltoise. In 1969, the combination won the Formula One World Championship with Tyrrell and Jackie Stewart.

The goal of winning the Le Mans 24 Hours was not achieved until 1972, by which time Elf and Matra had gone their separate ways. Elf, at that time owned by France, then undertook a policy to rebuild and promote French motor racing. began a long-term relationship with Renault, which was also owned by the French government at the time. Renault promoted the use of Elf oils in its road cars, while its Formula One racing cars also carried Elf sponsorship. This changed in 2009, when the Renault Formula One cars replaced the Elf logos with Total logos.

The most famous of the schemes to promote young drivers dates back to the start of the 1970s, when Francois Guiter of Elf established what was known as the Volant Elf. The fastest drivers on each course at the Winfield Racing Schools, Magny Cours and Paul Ricard, were asked to return to the school in the autumn to establish the fastest driver of the year. The two winners were each given a full budget to race the following year in Formula Renault. If they were fast enough they would be retained by Elf in Formula Three and then Formula Two (or later Formula 3000), and eventually they would get a drive in Formula One. The first two Pilotes Elf were Patrick Tambay and Didier Pironi. Both went on to win Grands Prix.

Elf Honda HRC 500 cc Grand Prix racing motorcycle of the mid-1980s Elf 3.jpg
Elf Honda HRC 500 cc Grand Prix racing motorcycle of the mid-1980s

They were followed over the years by Alain Prost, Pascal Fabre, Olivier Grouillard, Paul Belmondo, Éric Bernard, Érik Comas and Olivier Panis, all of whom became Formula One drivers. In addition, Elf often picked up other good drivers and sponsored them, creating a generation of top French drivers in the 1980s and early 1990s.

When Guiter retired Elf decided to change the policy and a revised program was implemented. This aimed to create a scheme for drivers, mechanics and engineers. Called "La Filière;" it funded as many as eight drivers each year in Formula Renault Elf Campus and four in Formula Three. Budget cuts between 2008 and 2012 reduced the number of French drivers moving on to Formula One positions.

Elf also supplying fuels and lubricants for two Formula One junior feeder open-wheel single-seater formula auto racing tournaments GP2 Series (later rebranded as FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2017) since 2005 and GP3 Series since 2010 (later rebranded as FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2019) respectively due to in fact Mecachrome has a long-term technical partnership with Elf since 1969 until 2022.

Elf also supplying standard Ethanol E10 fuels for all SRO-owned GT championships. In 2023, Elf became a series sponsor of the TCR Australia series.

See also

Related Research Articles

Matra was a major French industrial conglomerate. Its business activities covered a wide range of industries, notably aerospace, defence, automotive, motorsports, transport and telecommunications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automobiles Alpine</span> Racing car manufacturer

The Société des Automobiles Alpine SAS, commonly known as Alpine, is a French manufacturer of sports cars and racing cars established in 1955. The Alpine car marque was created in 1954.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esso</span> Oil and gas company

Esso is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso", to which the other Standard Oil companies would later object.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petrofina</span> Former Belgian oil company

Petrofina was a Belgian oil company. It merged with Total in 1999 to form TotalFina, which after subsequent mergers has changed its name back to Total. In the United States, Fina's former refining and marketing operations are now owned by Delek US.

The Tyrrell Racing Organisation was an auto racing team and Formula One constructor founded by Ken Tyrrell (1924–2001) which started racing in 1958 and started building its own cars in 1970. The team experienced its greatest success in the early 1970s, when it won three Drivers' Championships and one Constructors' Championship with Jackie Stewart. The team never reached such heights again, although it continued to win races through the 1970s and into the early 1980s, taking the final win for the Ford Cosworth DFV engine at the 1983 Detroit Grand Prix. The team was bought by British American Tobacco in 1997 and completed its final season as Tyrrell in the 1998 Formula One season. Tyrrell's legacy continues in Formula One as the Mercedes-AMG F1 team, who is Tyrrell's descendant through various sales and rebrandings via BAR, Honda, and Brawn GP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Formula Two</span> Formula car racing class

Formula Two is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name returned again in 2017 when the former GP2 Series became known as the FIA Formula 2 Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Formula Three</span> Race car class

Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TotalEnergies</span> French multinational energy and petroleum company

TotalEnergies SE is a French multinational integrated energy and petroleum company founded in 1924 and is one of the seven supermajor oil companies. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and international crude oil and product trading. TotalEnergies is also a large-scale chemicals manufacturer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Pierre Beltoise</span> French racing driver (1937–2015)

Jean-Pierre Maurice Georges Beltoise was a French Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver who raced for the Matra and BRM teams. He competed in 88 Grands Prix achieving a single victory, at the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix, and a total of eight podium finishes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Pierre Jabouille</span> French racing driver (1942–2023)

Jean-Pierre Alain Jabouille was a French racing driver. He raced in 55 Formula One Grands Prix, collecting two wins during the first years of Renault's turbocharged programme in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Jabouille also raced the 24 Hours of Le Mans from the late 1960s to the early 1990s, driving for Alpine, Matra, Sauber, and Peugeot and collecting four 3rd overall finishes in 1973, 1974, 1992, and 1993. Jabouille was one of the last of a breed of Formula One drivers who were also engineers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gérard Larrousse</span> French racing driver (born 1940)

Gérard Gilles Marie Armand Larrousse is a former sports car racing, rallying and Formula One driver from France. His greatest success as a driver was winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1973 and 1974, driving a Matra-Simca MS670. After the end of his career as racing car driver, he continued to be involved in Formula One as a team manager for Renault. He later founded and ran his own Formula One team, Larrousse, from 1987 to 1994.

Entreprise de recherches et d'activités pétrolières is a French petroleum company created in 1965 by the merger of RAP and BRP. In 1976 ERAP merged with the oil company Société nationale des pétroles d’Aquitaine (SNPA) giving birth to Société nationale Elf Aquitaine (SNEA), better known as Elf Aquitaine. Later this company merged with TotalFina into TotalFinaElf, which later changed its name to TotalEnergies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FFSA Academy</span>

The FFSA Academy was created in 1993 by Elf Aquitaine to promote French drivers at the highest level, in line with its marketing approach and its commitment to Renault in F1. It is located at: Technoparc des 24 Heures, Chemin aux Boeufs, 72100 Le Mans, France.

Nadhmi Shakir Auchi, is a British-Iraqi businessman and billionaire, founding president of the Anglo Arab Organisation, and the founder and chairman of General Mediterranean Holding (GMH), a conglomerate of 120 companies worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antar (company)</span>

Antar is a former French petroleum company, founded by Pechelbronn SAEM in 1927 in Merkwiller-Pechelbronn, Bas-Rhin, Alsace. However, its origins go back to 1745 when a company was formed to develop the natural oil wells in the vicinity of Merkwiller-Pechelbronn. Prior to World War II it also used the brand Socaline for petrol. After the purchase of another domestic French marketer, the formal name changed to Antar Pétroles de l'Atlantique and the Antar name extended to use on fuels. Antar was largely active in France, although an affiliate had a Swiss joint venture. The company may have been named after Rimsky-Korsakov's Antar Symphony about the Arab poet and warrior Antarah ibn Shaddad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renault R29</span> Formula One racing car

The Renault R29 is a Formula One racing car designed by the Renault F1 Team, with which they contested the 2009 Formula One World Championship. The chassis was designed by Bob Bell, James Allison, Tim Densham and Dirk de Beer with Pat Symonds overseeing the design and production of the car as Executive Director of Engineering and Rob White leading the engine design. The car was driven by Fernando Alonso, Nelson Piquet Jr. and Romain Grosjean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Équipe Ligier</span> French racing team

Équipe Ligier is a motorsport team, best known for its Formula One team that operated from 1976 to 1996. The team was founded in 1968 by former French rugby union player Guy Ligier as a sports car manufacturer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equipe Matra Sports</span> Racing team owned by Matra

The Matra Company's racing team, under the names of Matra Sports, Equipe Matra Elf and Equipe Matra Sports, was formed in 1965 and based at Champagne-sur-Seine (1965–1967), Romorantin-Lanthenay (1967–1969) and Vélizy-Villacoublay (1969–1979). In 1979 the team was taken over by Peugeot and renamed as Automobiles Talbot.

TotalEnergies Gas & Power is a business energy provider in the UK. A wholly owned subsidiary of French Oil Supermajor TotalEnergies. It is the largest industrial and commercial natural gas supplier in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feyzin Refinery</span>

The Feyzin Refinery is an oil refinery in south-east France, one of seven oil refineries in France.

References

  1. ↑ Fred Aftalion A History of the International Chemical Industry Chemical Heritage Foundation, 2001
  2. 1 2 M. S. Vassiliou (2009). Historical Dictionary of the Petroleum Industry. Scarecrow Press. p. 180. ISBN   978-0810862883 – via Google books.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  3. ↑ "Elf Aquitaine buys Texasgulf for $3 billion".
  4. 1 2 Cohen, Nick. "The Politics of Sleaze". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 2007-11-12. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
  5. ↑ Connett, David (May 4, 2008). "Unwelcome publicity for oil giant in legal battle with billionaire". The Independent. London. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Elf Aquitaine | French corporation | Britannica".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.