Union 76

Union 76 is a chain of gas stations located within the United States. The Union 76 brand is owned by ConocoPhillips. Union Oil Company of California, dba Unocal, the original owner and creator of the Union 76 brand merged with the Chevron Corporation in 2005. more...

In 1997, Unocal sold its western United States Refining and Marketing operations and the rights to the Union 76 brand to Tosco Corporation. Tosco has since been purchased by Phillips Petroleum who merged with Conoco to form ConocoPhillips. Unocal continued to own the "76" trademark for use in its operations, with the exception of the divested Refining and Marketing business. On August 10, 2005, Unocal Corporation was acquired and merged into a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation.

Unlike other petroleum companies, Union 76 uses ethanol instead of MTBE in their gasoline.

Union 76's gasoline additive is known as PROPower.

The Orange Ball

Union 76 is famous for its signs, which are large orange balls with '76' written on them. Many stations had the 76 ball rotate when the signs were lit up. The first such sign was designed in 1962 by advertising creative director Ray Pedersen for the Seattle World's Fair.

In 2005, new corporate owners ConocoPhillips began rebranding the 76 stations, pulling down the popular orange and blue ball signs in favor of a "monument-style" sign in red and blue. This change prompted the circulation of a petition in January 2006, and a website aimed at saving the iconic logo. This campaign is supported by Ray Pedersen, prompting the slogan "Save Ray's Balls!"

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