AN oil company with a depot in York has been bought out by Bayford Thrust, of Wetherby.

It is part of Bayford Thrust's £1 million deal to acquire Dominion Oils, British Petroleum's northern fuels business.

Dominion Oils has operated a depot on the Ebor Industrial Estate in Hallfield Road, Layerthorpe, as well as bases for sales and distribution of home heating, commercial gas and oils in Sheffield and Halifax.

Rob Staines, marketing manager for Bayford Thrust, which has a turnover of more than £100 million, said that none of the 20 drivers, sales team and controllers - including six at York - will lose their jobs.

"Indeed, we expect to stimulate even more business in York and elsewhere," he said.

BP, which has just taken over Amoco, is seeking to consolidate by selling its smaller operations. Mr Staines said: "They are downsizing. We are upsizing. Bayford Thrust is almost doubling in growth, adding to its existing oil operations in Wetherby, Keighley, Immingham and Northallerton.

"The York depot will serve Bridlington and Scarborough which we have never before covered. The Sheffield operation reaches out to South Yorkshire and Halifax serves North Derbyshire and Manchester. So we now thoroughly cover Yorkshire and beyond."

The announcement of the transaction co-incides with the appointment of Jonathan Turner, 34, as Bayford Thrust's managing director. He succeeds his father, David, who remains as group chairman.

Jonathan developed and marketed the concept of franchising the Thrust brand to other petrol retailers as a way of helping smaller rural garages throughout the UK to compete against the "big boys".