Oil in Texas: The Gusher Age, 1895-1945: Clifton and Shirley Caldwell Texas Heritage Series

I am a New Zealander so neither a Texan or of Oil StockIt would be a pity if this excellent work only found its way into the above homes.I found it a very useful introduction to the early history of Oil. It's focus is on Texas and the approach is by area and chronology.Eg it takes the Spindletop area and follows its story through in that chapterLater it takes the Permian Basin and shows how it fairly barren and rug hard area became a major oil area.One learns about sweet crude and (sulphurous ) sour crude and crude with a fair mixture of paraffinTechnological developments like developments in drilling,storage, pipelines, refining and exploration are scattered throughout the text.With improvements in refining Aviation Octane arrived just before WWII and the modern Plastics industry was just startingOne is introduced to a number of major and smaller players with bigger firms,indecent ants and loners.One sees how Texas aimed to control the finances so that Texas benefitted mostOne also learns about the problems for the Permian Basin-- it's inassessability and the poor nature of its crude so that it didn't attract a premiumOne learns how the University of Texas became the richest University in the World. In the Texas constitution from the 1860's I think , the founders of Texas put extensive but near valueless lands aside for 2 universities. Nothing much came of this till oil was struck on University lands in the Permian Basin. The story has lots of twists and turns (what royalties went to Ranchers, what to the University of Texas, what to UAM etc)I hope I haven't put you wrong on the details. I have learnt a lot from the book and will be going though it again to try and firm up on a number of details.I had the kindle version but found I made a lot more progress by someone reading it to meI think this helps bring out the gripping nature of the storySee the Audible version that is unabridged(click author's name which will take you to various versions of this work- one at least has the Audible setting. If you are an Audible member go direct to Audible)I found the pictures didn't open in my kindle editionIf you like picture books of Early Oil history see Early Texas Oil: A Photographic History, 1866-1936 (Kenneth E. Montague Series in Oil and Business History) Some of my general comments are found under my review Early Oklahoma Oil: A Photographic History, 1859-1936 (Montague History of Oil Series)

This book, bought for our son whose career is in the oil and gas industry, was just right for him. I had reviewed another copy while visiting my brother, Bill Fortune. He, too, received a new copy a few weeks ago and upon his recommendation, I decided to buy one for our son. I read quite a bit from the book before I passed it on and for sure want to read it all someday. The fact that it was once in a library made it quite interesting. We Texans enjoy all aspects of our state history and what I read did not disappoint. The preface was clear in expressing the intent of the book and I am certain that our son aw well as his wife [ her family has been in the West Texas oil and gas work for generations] will be blessed with this fascinating read. I recommend it for a gift to almost anyone who enjoys Texas history.Dorothy Fortune Hayner

Not the easiest book to read. A great deal of politics but very good. I learned a lot from this book. I ended up buying the hardcopy and audio book too. It's a great passive listening book. I was doing a research paper on east Texas and this book gave me a great starting point. Very well written.

Dr. Hinton has recorded an interesting time in history. Her facts are well documented. A good display of Texas oil development.

Great Book!!! Has specifics about different oil fields in Texas. If your in oil you need this book

This is a fantastic book for those with an interest in the oil industry, I bought 4 copies as I have relatives that were involved in the early days of oil exploration in south Louisiana.. They really enjoyed this book.

There are three reasons why you should buy Diana and Roger Olien's book `Oil in Texas'. It is nicely-produced, with lots of illustrations. The writing is unobtrusive and authoritative. But best of all, it is a great tale which encapsulates, if not all, at least a fair sized chunk of humanity, big and little oil, some science, government, regulation, and the environment. In fact the first Texan discoveries in Corsicana led to environmental legislation as early as in 1899. These imposed open-hole casing requirements, although the concern was more for the well-being of the reservoir than for aquifer pollution.The 1901 Spindletop discovery at Beaumont really got things moving - after the lease had changed hands three times, and an `expert' geologist derided the prospect as `idle dreams or insane notions'. Spindletop produced over 17 million barrels of oil in 1902! At the time, non-geological theories of prospectivity abounded. Former Texas governor James Hogg was asked what made up `oil land.' Hogg replied "If it hain't no good for nothing else, it's a good sign; and if the title is bad, it's a cinch."Texas politics shaped the oil industry from the outset. Ever suspicious of things out-of-state, Texas became the heartland of anti-trust legislation. What in some ways was a propaganda war against the `monopolistic' majors, led to the establishment of a healthy Texan oil industry.Local industry was also bolstered by the powerful Texas Railroad Commission (TRC), which by the end of the 1940's `exercised far more influence over [worldwide] crude oil prices than OPEC does today'. The TRC's regulations, on matters such as gas venting, and water encroachment, frequently went un-policed. It was left up to individuals and companies to enforce regulation through the courts.By 1920, geological theories had evolved beyond the salt dome `fixation' to trends, anticlines and stratigraphic traps. Gravity prospecting, refraction and later reflection seismics, introduced by Everett DeGolyer's Geophysical Research Corporation, came in slowly with mixed results. In fact the big one - the East Texas `colossus' of oilfields was found with 1930 with no help at all from science. The East Texas field, with estimated recoverable reserves of 7 billion barrels (of which 2 billion remain today!) is a pure stratigraphic trap with no surface manifestation whatsoever.Other tricks of the trade were discovered in this early period. Independent Cullen drilled for oil in fields abandoned by the majors, and sometimes located newer reserves in deeper horizons. Some of the discoveries beggar belief. One well in the Permian Basin's Yates field produced at a rate of 200,000 barrels per day. A photo shows the drilling crew looking rather philosophical as they pose, drenched in black gold.The boom and bust cyclical nature of the industry was established from the earliest days. The National Guard was called in to quell the trouble resulting from the total collapse in the oil price that soaring production from East Texas created. More legislation followed - against `hot oil' from out of state.Oil in Texas' only failings are the rather skimpy maps and the near-absence of any geological sections de l'époque. Actually there is one - a marvelous section from the Houston Post of 1901 showing an underground river of oil flowing from Corsicana, through Beaumont and out into the Gulf. Makes you wonder - if you project out into the deepwater - maybe it ends up feeding ThunderHorse!Review originally appeared in Oil IT Journal.