Foundation, names, and ownership in the 20th century Paz was founded in 1922 as
Anglo-Asiatic Petroleum. From 1927, it operated as part of
Royal Dutch Shell under the name
Shell Palestine. In 1957, Shell decided to withdraw from Israel due to
economic pressure from Arab countries. In 1958, the company changed to the ownership of the
Briton Isaac Wolfson and the
French Nahmias brothers, and it was renamed
Paz Petroleum Company Ltd. The company's symbol, a yellow triangle, still resembles that of Shell. Wolfson sold his holdings in the company in 1981 to the State of Israel, which sold it in 1988 to the
Australian
Jack Liberman. Since 1999, the Israeli businessman
Zadik Bino has owned the majority of the shares, with the Liberman family and other groups holding minority interests.
Investments and market reach in the 21st century In 1999, Paz acquired 74 percent of the Israeli fast-food chain
Burger Ranch. In late 2001, Paz completed the acquisition, becoming 100 percent owners of the chain. New branches of Burger Ranch were opened at Paz gas stations. In 2006, Paz sold the chain to the Israeli businessman Yossi Hoshinski. In August 2006, Paz won a tender to acquire the
Ashdod Oil Refineries with a
NIS 3.5 billion bid, from
Oil Refineries Ltd; which was forced to break its monopoly on oil refining in
Israel. The acquisition made Paz Israel's most powerful energy company and its owner Zadik Bino the industry's most powerful figure. In 2012, Paz held 30% of the Israeli fuel market and 31% of the Israeli gas stations. On 12 February 2020, Paz Oil was listed on the
United Nations list of companies operating in West Bank settlements. On 5 July 2021,
Norway's largest pension fund
KLP said it would divest from Paz Oil as it helped to power Israeli settlements in the
West Bank. In March 2021, Paz acquired the Super Yuda supermarket chain for 170 million NIS. In August that year, it also acquired the Freshmarket chain. ==Operations==