Bob Beal, who owns six convenience-store gas stations here through a company called R&B Systems Inc., is dropping his 30-year affiliation with Chevron brand products and is switching his stations over to the Shell brand.


Shell has given us a better, more competitive offer that gives us a better buying price on a daily basis, says Beal. The Shell product is as good or better, and the company has the largest credit card base (for an oil company) in the nation.


R&B also has become a distributor of Shell Oil Co. products, initially just to its own six outlets, but later hopes to distribute to other operators as well, he says. Under its affiliation with Chevron, R&B had to buy fuel from a wholesaler in Montana, Beal says.


Chevron, formerly Standard Oil Co. of California, merged with Texaco Inc. in 2001 and later became Chevron Corp.


R&B has been operating four Chevron stations and two Texaco stations here, but in recent weeks has changed all four Chevron stations and one of the Texaco stations over to Shell. That process, with new canopies and signage installed and other cosmetic changes made, was accomplished without closing down those stations.


The final Texaco station to be converted, at 1527 W. Third, will be shut down temporarily for some remodeling, as its converted to Shell later this year, Beal says.


Nothing has changed but the flavor at the pump, says Beal.


He says a major factor in his decision to change fuel brands is a current credit-card program Shell and Citibank offer through Master Card that gives Shell customers using the card a 5 percent discount on gasoline purchases. He says the program isnt offered to business customers or for diesel purchases.


In addition to the station on West Third, R&Bs locations are at 1007 N. Sullivan and 1520 N. Argonne, in Spokane Valley; and at 618 W. Francis, 8624 N. Nevada, and 12310 N. Division, on the North Side.