
A California jury ordered Phillips 66 to pay $604.9 million in damages to Propel Fuels after finding Phillips 66 guilty of stealing trade secrets under the guise of a potential acquisition and using them to start a competing renewable-fuel business.
The incident reportedly dates back to 2017 when Phillips 66 offered to acquire Propel Fuels, which makes low-carbon renewable fuels, to expand its renewable fuel business in California. However, after gaining hold of Propel's sensitive information, Phillips suddenly pulled out of the deal and started selling its renewable energy fuel, Reuters reported.