The Pit

The Caltex Techron — Burnpavement Reader Survey 2015 (Part 1)

BY Azfar Hashim

A first for Burnpavement, ourselves along with three other lucky readers sample Caltex’s Techron fuels

Photos by Joel Tam

But before we go any further, lets take a quick history lesson on the Caltex brand.

The Caltex brand was created back in 1936, as a joint venture between Standard Oil Co. of California and the Texas Co., with each having equal ownership. On the contrary up to the 1950s, Caltex in Singapore was originally known as Texas Company (China) Ltd. Bet no one knew that…

More interesting fact here: Did you know that in 1979, Caltex acquired a one-third interest in Singapore Refining Co. Pte. Ltd? SRC operates a 285,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Singapore, and produces mainly fuel products.

Along the way in the 1990s, Chevron consolidated its position as a strong regional brand, with many refineries being upgraded, alongside major revamps for its brand image and service stations. A major surprise in the brand’s history took place in 1999, when Chevron moved its operating headquarters from the US to Singapore, to meet the challenges of the 21st century. This little island suddenly became an important hub.

With the merger of Chevron and Texaco in October 2001, Caltex became part of the ChevronTexaco family. Later in 2004, Caltex’s interest in SRC was increased to 50 percent; and at the same time, Caltex progressively grew and expanded across Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.

Since its inception more than 70 years ago, Caltex has grown tremendously and now operates in more than 60 countries in those three regions. In a move to present a clear and unified presence in the global marketplace, ChevronTexaco Corporation then changed its name to Chevron Corporation in May 2005.

Chevron Corporation was also the first Fortune 500 company to receive ‘Global Headquarters’ status from the Economic Development Board. In November 2005, Chevron was conferred the ‘Distinguished Partner in Progress’ Award for the company’s commitment to developing Singapore’s manufacturing industry, participation in industry initiatives and contributions to Singapore in the economic, social and community arenas.

Chevron Corporation is currently one of the world's leading energy companies - Chevron subsidiaries conduct businesses around the world producing and transporting crude oil and natural gas, refining, marketing and distributing fuels and other energy products. The Caltex brand is marketed in nearly 60 of the 180 countries Chevron operates from.

With that, we are proud to present to you the first ever Burnpavement Reader Survey 2015, a collaboration between Caltex and Burnpavement. For the next one month, myself and three other readers will be sampling Caltex Techron petrol and diesel fuels as we go about our daily (motoring) lives. We will be telling you all our first hand experiences using Caltex's quality fuels in our diverse range of cars.

Read all about my experience with Caltex’s Techron 98 fuel next!