Do you know where PECO comes from? Here's the history of communist gas stations that disappeared after '90
Before 1989, there were no OMV, MOL, LUK or Rompetrol gas stations. Because Ceausescu made sure that cars...
Before 1989, there were no OMV, MOL, LUK or Rompetrol gas stations. Because Ceausescu made sure that domestic cars were fueled with their own, national products, obtained from oil extracted from Romanian soil, not imported. In the past, cars only stopped at PECO gas stations. Here's the story of this disappeared brand that has now become a universal nickname.

In case you didn't know, the general term still used today for gas stations, PECO, comes from the name that gas stations had before 1989. PECO stands for Products Etilate cu Cifra Octanica and was the abbreviation used by the gas station chain on the territory of Romania between 1954 and 1990. In fact, PECO was one of the first successful Romanian brands and was, for 4 decades, the only gas station chain, the only producer and distributor of oils and lubricants for vehicles.
Before '89, Romania had its own oil industry, from extraction to processing. That is, the oil wells did their job, all belonging to the state-owned company Rafirom, they were transported through the 1800 kilometers of pipelines of Petrotrans, another state-owned company, to one of the 10 Rafirom refineries, after which they were processed and distributed by PECO, another Romanian company. Moreover, our country produced so many petroleum products that we exported them to our neighbors, but also to Africa and South America.

PECO was a company that dealt with the production, packaging and distribution of petroleum products. It was, in fact, the most popular brand among drivers and car mechanics, because the only engine, gearbox, brake and hydraulic oils that you could buy in stores and gas stations were PECO brand.
Fuel was also sold under the same name in Romania. In 1962, PECO had no less than 160 gas stations nationwide (25 in Bucharest alone), and by 1980, it had reached 310 gas stations. Every city had at least one PECO gas station, and Bucharest, Constanta and Timisoara each had over 4 stations at the beginning. These gas stations sold premium leaded and diesel "gasoline", as well as a wide range of car oils. By 1989, although the exact number of gas stations is not known, it is estimated that there were over 580 PECO gas stations in Romania.

Besides PECO brand products, Romanian drivers did not have many other options for motor oils. In fact, they did have them, but only "on the black market", that is, illegally imported oils. These were used mainly by those who raced or in competition cars. Between 1965 and 1989, the most popular oil exported was Texaco, brought from the Serbs and Hungarians. However, this oil was expensive and rare, with the vast majority of drivers still using PECO lubricants.
As much as we like this brand with history that left its mark on all the cars in Romania that were circulating before 1989, we must say that the petroleum products were not the best quality. Dacii drivers, for example, knew the poor cooling, lubricating and cleaning qualities of PECO oils and changed them every 5000 kilometers. The same was true for gasoline and diesel: the quality of the fuel was quite poor, many drivers choosing to put alcohol or methanol in the tank for better combustion, but also to change the fuel filter about 4 times a year.
However, we must remain with a beautiful image of the PECO brand. Because they were very neat, bright gas stations, with large and colorful advertisements, as we see in the shows on History, in which various old signs from gas stations are discovered. PECO had tall illuminated totems since the 1960s, and the red, yellow and blue logo, the colors of the flag, was present on every gas station and at every entrance to the station.

Unfortunately, right after the Revolution, a few smart guys who manipulated energy thought it wouldn't hurt to kill this famous brand. In 1991, Petrom was born, which, within a few years, led to the disappearance of the state-owned companies Rafirom, Petrotrans and PECO. PECO stations disappeared completely and became Petrom stations, and all the products that were previously sold under this name became Petrom products. In 2004, OMV bought this company and reorganized all production and distribution of petroleum products, but at least kept two of the 3 colors of the original PECO logo... So, every time you enter a Romanian gas station, don't forget that about 30 years ago, your parents and grandparents were fueling the old Dacia 1310 it's in a real PECO, most likely in the same place you do it...