Depending on where you live, there may be multiple gas stations of the same brand from one end of your city to the other. But while you may be familiar with many of the logos and the companies behind them, you may not know which one has the most radio stations in the United States. This distinction goes to Shell, which owns 13,605 service stations across the country. This is based on third-party information from online data collection company ScrapeHero. However, it’s worth noting that this number may not be entirely accurate, as Shell’s official fact sheet puts its number of service stations at around 12,000.
The same warning applies to Shell’s biggest rival, Exxon Mobil, which SlashGear has previously reported has the best natural gas in the United States. ScrapeHero In second place is ExxonMobil, with 11,014 gas stations in the United States, but that number may not be entirely accurate; it’s lower than the more than 12,000 total reported on ExxonMobil’s corporate website. So while Shell and Exxon Mobil appear to be close, their totals are only approximations reported by both companies, rather than accurate real-time counts.
The same is true for other sites in ScrapeHero’s top five, including Chevron, which officially reports more than 8,000 locations, more than third-party site listings. 7-Eleven is a gas station chain that you may not know is owned by a Japanese company and is not listed on ScrapeHero due to the way the stores are classified. 7-Eleven official reports list more than 8,200 stations in its network, which includes Speedway and Stripes, two brands owned by the same parent company.
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As the largest gas station chain in the United States, Shell serves millions of customers every day at stations that are often operated by independent owners. But Shell is more than just a gas station chain. The company owns several popular motor oil brands, including Pennzoil and Quaker State. It also provides vehicle services through Jiffy Lube, operates electric vehicle charging stations and works with clean energy initiatives. Due to its broad approach, Shell is able to provide services in all 50 states.
But Shell’s expansion in the United States has also caused a lot of controversy. In 2013, the company faced environmental enforcement for violations of the Clean Air Act. The problem occurred at the company’s Deer Park, Texas, refinery, and Shell agreed to pay civil penalties while also investing more than $115 million to help control pollution. That same year, Shell recorded an impairment of $2.1 billion, reflecting losses of approximately $24 billion in initial investments in North American shale oil and gas projects. The projects didn’t turn out to be as profitable as the company expected.
