SWEENEY OIL, one of the largest oil companies in the west, has switched its main supply contract to Esso from Statoil.

Controlled by multi-millionaire businessman John Sweeney, a one-third shareholder in the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin, the company owns 20 service stations and operates a fleet of 70 trucks.

The entire business will be rebranded in the next six months under the Esso brand, owned by ExxonMobil. While a small number of Sweeney Oil's interests previously did business under the Esso, Maxol and Sweeney brands, most operated under the Statoil name.

Annual turnover of the business, whose parent company is Black Shore Holdings, amounts to more than €200 million.

Mr Sweeney was an underbidder in 2006 to the Topaz Energy consortium in the race for Statoil's Irish distribution business, which sold for over €200 million. He was outbid by Topaz a year earlier when it bought Shell's Irish oil business for €160 million.

In a statement yesterday, Black Shore said it would invest €1 million in a rebranding exercise.

"This agreement maintains our position as one of the leading independent oil distributors in the country, and this is a great opportunity for Sweeney Oil and Esso to grow their businesses together," Mr Sweeney said.

Esso Ireland chairman Tony Parr said: "We believe that this new venture will greatly enhance Esso's representation in both the retail service stations, heating oil and commercial fuels markets in Ireland."