Fuel Marketers: Products

> Petroleum Jobber

Petroleum jobber's purchase their products directly from the refining companies (or in some cases from larger jobbers) and either sell them to retailers (e.g., gasoline stations), or sell them directly to the users of those products (e.g., home heating oil to homeowners, lubricating oils to industrial operations or repair shops, jet fuel to FBO's, etc.). In essence, the jobber acts as the "middleman" between the company that refines the petroleum products and those that either use them or market them at retail prices.

Some petroleum jobbers may receive or pick up their products directly from the oil refineries. Petroleum jobbers that are located in more rural areas will tend to have greater quantities of fuel stored at their bulk plants due to the fact that the closest terminals may be situated at greater distances from their base of operations. For these insureds, various types of petroleum products are delivered in bulk, either by their own transports or by common carrier to their facility where they are stored until being distributed to customers. Insured's that are situated more conveniently to petroleum terminals will often have less extensive bulk plant operations since drivers will typically pick up their fuels right at the rack and deliver them directly to customers.

Most petroleum terminals are operated by a "cardlock" system, which is similar to the setup of a self-service gas station. The insured maintains an "account" with the terminal, and at the time of pickup, a card is inserted into a machine that acknowledges the jobber's account, dispenses the desired amounts of fuels, and calculates the jobber's total bill for each shipment.