PHILLIPS 66 TO PAY $605 MILLION FOR STEALING BIOFUEL FORMULA

The American petrochemical giant was convicted of using trade secrets from competitor Propel's biofuels production under the guise of a potential buyer of the company, and eventually opened its own biofuels business.

American energy company Phillips 66 has been ordered by a court to pay biofuel producer Propel Fuels $605 million in damages for stealing the secrets of biodiesel and “clean” gasoline.

The court found that Phillips stole Propel’s secrets in 2017 under the guise of gathering information for a potential acquisition of its renewable energy business, then abruptly abandoned the deal in 2018 and began selling its own biofuels the following year.

As a result, the plaintiff argues, Phillips 66 is making multibillion-dollar revenues in the California renewable fuels market based on Propel's trade secrets, even though it had no prior knowledge of the business.