A California jury has determined that Phillips 66 (PSX, Financial), a prominent U.S. oil and gas company, must pay up to $604.9 million to Propel Fuel Company for misusing its trade secrets to advance its renewable fuels business. The jury found that Phillips 66, headquartered in Houston, pretended to gather potential acquisition information to steal confidential data from Propel, based in Sacramento. This information was allegedly utilized to create a competing business.
The case stems from events back in 2017 when Phillips 66 approached Propel with acquisition intentions to expand its renewable fuel operations in California, a state promoting low-carbon fuel alternatives. However, Phillips 66 withdrew from the deal in 2018 and launched its renewable fuel products in 2019. Propel subsequently filed a lawsuit in 2022 against Phillips 66, accusing the company of illegally using trade secrets, including confidential negotiations that revealed financial data and business strategies.
Propel claimed that prior to receiving confidential information from them, Phillips 66 had no involvement in the renewable fuels market in California. Propel emphasized that Phillips 66's entry into this market was fundamentally based on Propel's proprietary information.
Phillips 66, traditionally focused on oil and gas operations like refining and petrochemicals, has started to venture into renewable energy, though on a smaller scale compared to its traditional energy business.
