It depends on the country, C-Flat. In most countries the oil companies don't own the petrol stations, they simply award franchises and some financial support for infrastructure (canopies signage etc), but not all of it. The owner has to foot the bill for most of the investment, and accordingly has a much larger share of the income than the oil company whose franchise he/she holds.

This is why you do in fact see closures of whole networks happening overnight. In Belgium (the most "over-pumped" country in Europe, our company literally closed down its network in a week. Some franchises were sold on to Q8, but most were simply "paid off".

In the UK there is a mix of ownership. Some companies own their own stations, but most of the "biggies" don't.