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| Company type | Société anonyme |
|---|---|
| Paris Bourse: ELFNYSE: ELF | |
| Industry | Petroleum |
| Predecessor | Mineralöl- und Asphaltwerke  |
| Defunct | 2000; 26 years ago (2000) |
| Fate | Merged toTotalEnergies in 2000, becoming a brand |
| Successor | TotalEnergies |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Gasoline,motor oils,natural gas,brake fluids |
| Parent | TotalEnergies |
| Website | elf.com |
Elf Aquitaine is a Frenchbrand ofoils and othermotor products (such asbrake fluids) for automobiles and trucks. Elf is a formerpetroleum company which merged with TotalFina to form "TotalFinaElf". The new company changed its name to Total in 2003 andTotalEnergies in 2021. Elf has been a major brand of TotalEnergies since then.
Elf Aquitaine's heritage is rooted among three French oil companies:Régie Autonome des Pétroles (RAP),Société Nationale des Pétroles d'Aquitaine (SNPA), andBureau de Recherches de Pétroles (BRP). These entities were formed to exploit a gas field discovered inSaint-Marcet in theAquitaine region of south-western France in 1939.
In the early 1960s, with a view to create a French national champion with oil and gas considered as a strategic resource for economic development, under Presidentde Gaulle's leadership, further state-owned companies were set up with specific objectives.
In December 1965, RAP, SNPA and BRP were merged to formEntreprise de Recherches et d'Activités Pétrolières (ERAP), laterElf-ERAP (Essence Lubricants France).[2] UGP eventually merged with UGD and integrated into the newly formed group. The resulting company achievedvertical integration, owning assets in all phases of the oil and gas business from exploration to production, refinery, distribution and research.
On April 28, 1967, the company's disparate brands and products were unified under the Elf brand. Elf was the first company to pioneer a completely synthetic racing oil.
In 1973, Elf diversified with subsidiary SNPA creating a pharmaceuticals subsidiarySanofi, and acquired the pharmaceutical groups Labaz, Castaigne, and Robilliart as well as the purchase of minor interests in a cosmetics company.[3]
In 1976, Elf-ERAP merged withAntar Pétroles de l'Atlantique to becomeSociété Nationale Elf Aquitaine (SNEA), laterElf Aquitaine.[4]
In 1979, Elf Aquitaine lost over US$150 million in theGreat 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 boughtTexasgulf for US $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.[5]
In 1991, Elf Aquitaine was listed on theNYSE.
In 1993, Elf was awarded an exclusive contract to the Iraqi oil fields by Iraqi leaderSaddam Hussein.[4]
The Elf scandal which came to light in 1994 in France was according toThe 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'.[6]
Iraqi-bornNadhmi 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.[7] Auchi was also linked to theClearstream scandal. He isBNP Paribas bank's main private share-holder; and until 2001, the money for theOil-for-Food programme transited through theescrow account of BNP Paribas.[6]
Moreover, magistrateEva 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]
In 1996, the French government sold its stake, retaining agolden share.
In 2000, Elf Aquitaine merged with Total Fina to form TotalFinaElf, which changed its name toTotal in 2003.
Legal investigations into the company continued after it was purchased by Totalfina.[8]
Elf Aquitaine is an official recommended fuel and motor oil for allRenault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance marques (includingRenault (shared withBP,Aral, andCastrol),Nissan,Dacia,Datsun,Alpine,Venucia,Renault Korea Motors andInfiniti) and Brough Superior for automobiles only as well asKawasaki for motorcycles only.
From its very beginnings, Elf used motor racing as a means of promotion. It began with a four-year association withMatra in a French Formula Three program. This resulted inHenri Pescarolo winning the title. The European Formula Two Championship fell to Matra the following year withJean-Pierre Beltoise. In 1969, the combination won theFormula One World Championship withTyrrell andJackie Stewart.
The goal of winning theLe 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 withRenault, 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 Elf's marketing directorFrançois Guiter established what was known as theVolant Elf. The fastest drivers on each course at the Winfield Racing Schools,Magny Cours andPaul 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 twoPilotes Elf werePatrick Tambay andDidier Pironi. Both went on to win Grands Prix.
They were followed over the years byAlain Prost,Pascal Fabre,Olivier Grouillard,Paul Belmondo,Éric Bernard,Érik Comas andOlivier 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 twoFormula One junior feeder open-wheel single-seater formula auto racing tournamentsGP2 Series (later rebranded asFIA Formula 2 Championship in 2017) since 2005 andGP3 Series since 2010 (later rebranded asFIA Formula 3 Championship in 2019) respectively due to in factMecachrome 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 theTCR Australia series.
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