Is Big Oil Looking Deeper Into On-Demand Fuel Delivery?

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On-demand fuel delivery could remain a growing business as consumer behavior changes and amid a reportedly consistent decline in the number of gas stations in the United States.

Those factors and others may be making the big players take note. Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM has a stake in fuel delivery startup Yoshi while Shell plc SHEL has taken another significant step into the sector with the reported acquisition recently of privately held, Houston-based Instafuel. Shell already operates its own mobile fuel-delivery company TapUp.

The acquisition of a mobile fuel-delivery company by a big oil player is likely of interest to other on-demand fuel providers such as Miami-based EZFill Holdings Inc. EZFL, which is growing its business first in its home state of Florida but aims to expand nationally.

The company more than tripled the size of its fuel-providing fleet last October with an agreement to acquire 33 new gas tank vehicles enabling it to expand into major Florida cities such as Orlando and Tampa but also for growth in other states.

“Fleet owners and consumers are continuing to reduce their reliance on traditional gas stations and turning to the convenience, cost-effectiveness, peace of mind and safety of mobile delivery to fuel their vehicles,” EZFill CEO Mike McConnell said at the time of the fleet expansion announcement.

Sustainable Solution Too?

Instafuel’s LinkedIn profile says the company believes in “a future where fuel is delivered directly to the customer and making gas stations a thing of the past.”

The company’s buyer, Shell, says a fuel-delivery business model also makes sense for environmental reasons. Instafuel, too, says it will guarantee a 5% reduction in customer energy consumption by using its services.

Shell’s TapUp division says it can avoid, reduce and compensate for customer emissions. It says it avoids emissions by limiting unnecessary miles from a customer fleet because there is no need to drive to a gas station.

And by gaining access to the cleaner fuels Shell provides, according to the company, customer emissions are reduced. In addition, Shell states that it will offset the emissions of the fuels it provides through nature-based solutions, adding to a customer’s carbon savings.

In doing so, Shell estimates a fleet of 100 vehicles could see an annual carbon dioxide emission reduction of 9 metric tons, equating to 3,080 hours and 20,300 miles saved by cutting out fueling trips.

Convenience and potential benefits to the environment sound like a business model in tune with today’s consumer trends and one that big oil players may increasingly want to be involved in.

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Picture credit: Austrian National Library on Unsplash