Ampol is the largest transport energy distributor and retailer in Australia, with more than 1,900 Ampol-branded service stations across the country as of October 2022[update].

[8][9] The legal entity Caltex Australia Limited originated from California Asphalt Products Pty Ltd which was incorporated in May 1935.

Caltex Australia was compensated even though it did not own the pipeline (AOR did), and while the general rule was that pure economic loss was not recoverable, it was subject to an exception in circumstances where the defendant could reasonably foresee that the particular plaintiff, as opposed to a general class of persons, would suffer loss as a result of their negligence .

[16] The Australian Motorists Petrol Company, simply known as Ampol, was incorporated by Sir William Gaston Walkley in 1936 in New South Wales.

[6][7][17] Walkley, along with William O'Callaghan and George Hutchison, approached the NRMA and offered to help it form a company to market petrol.

Whilst deciding not to officially sponsor an oil company, members of the NRMA's board sought investors.

The first delivery of oil was received at White Bay in December 1937 and, by 1939, Walkley had joined the board of Ampol as managing director.

[18] During World War II, Walkley served on the Oil Advisory Committee and the board of Pool Petroleum Pty Ltd, both of which supervised the distribution of petrol.

This brought him into contact with Sir George Wales, who owned Alba Petroleum, which had a small market in South Australia and Tasmania.

During 1959, Ampol expanded by opening a grease plant at Balmain, Sydney and commenced manufacturing tyres and tubes in Somerton, an outer suburb of Melbourne.

In 1952, Caltex and Ampol established the West Australian Petroleum Pty Ltd (WAPET) as a joint venture for oil and gas exploration in Western Australia.

As a result of the merger, the WAPET oil and gas exploration joint venture was replaced by Chevron Australia Pty Ltd in February 2000.

[12] In February 1999, Caltex opened an "IGA Everyday" supermarket at its service station in Bondi, to compete with Woolworths and Coles.

The Ampol brand was replaced but would remain in use at some service stations, primarily in country areas where customer loyalty and strong brand-recognition were factors.

[48] Caltex Australia claimed the refinery was "not viable" because it manufactured "outmoded lubricant products" and faced "declining feedstock sources".

The Kurnell Refinery ceased operations in 2014, and part of the existing infrastructure such as wharfs and tanks would be converted to a fuel importation and blending terminal.

[65][66] Caltex Australia proposed to rebrand itself back as Ampol, which was approved by more than 99% of shareholders during the annual general meeting on 14 May 2020.

[67][68] Caltex Australia cited continued high recognition and regard for the Ampol brand, and the move was expected to save the company $20 million per year in licensing fees to Chevron.

The remaining twelve months until 31 December 2022 were the "non-exclusivity period", where both Chevron and Ampol could use the Caltex brand at the same time.

[72] Ampol planned to rebrand its sites in Sydney and Melbourne in August 2020, followed by Brisbane and Adelaide in October 2020, Perth in November 2020 and nationally in 2021.

In late 2020, EG Australia, the owner of former Woolworths service stations co-branded with Caltex, sued Ampol regarding the latter's rebranding, accusing them of "misleading or deceptive conduct".

EG also accused Ampol for failing to disclose that the latter was already locked in discussions with Chevron about the future of the trademark licence agreement.

[76] In 2021, Chevron also sued Ampol for breaching the Caltex trade mark licensing agreement, regarding the continued use of the red canopy fascia in its rebranded service stations, continuing to promote and accept the Caltex StarCard loyalty card at Ampol service stations, and continuing to use Caltex and StarCard trade marks in conjunction with Ampol trade marks.

The Federal Court of Australia ruled that the use of the red canopy fascia was not misleading or deceptive as "no reasonable consumer was likely to think that there is any relevant association between the two entities or that the Caltex and Ampol brands are from the same stable".

[4] In December 2017, Caltex Australia entered a strategic partnership with Seaoil, the leading independent fuel company in the Philippines.

[107] In August 2021, Ampol launched a takeover bid for New Zealand fuel distributor Z Energy for NZ$2 billion.

[111][112] In the year 2018, Gull contributed to Caltex Australia's 39% increase in international fuel sales volumes to 3.5 billion litres.

In 1959/1960, the Ampol Open Trophy and bonus prize was presented to the winner of a 15-tournament professional world series of tennis tournaments.

It was presented at Kooyong Stadium on 2 January 1960 to Lew Hoad, acclaimed "the world's top professional tennis player".

[121] During the 1980s and early 1990s, Caltex was the naming rights sponsor of Endeavour Field, the home ground of the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, which is on the road to its Kurnell Refinery.