Chevron is investigating how it sold small amounts of substandard premium gasoline to a handful of fueling stations in the Houston area. Via FuelFix, Chevron on July 2 responded to consumer complaints of vehicle problems by suspending sales of premium and mid-grade gasoline to 500 area stations. Tests conducted by Chevron at independent fueling stations in the area revealed a limited amount of bad premium gasoline, but the company could not say how many stations were affected or how many complaints were received.
A similar incident occurred in March when ExxonMobil shipped five million gallons of bad fuel from its Baton Rouge, La., refinery. ExxonMobil enforced stricter fuel standards at the Baton Rouge plant after it identified an atypical variation in the fuel that led to at least 35 vehicle malfunctions.
