3. The Search for Oil
• Demand for
oil rose
after
scientists
developed
kerosene.
Kerosene Lamp
4. The Search for Oil
• Petroleum—dark thick
liquid commonly called oil
• Fossil Fuel—fuel such as
oil, coal, or gas, formed
underground from plant or
animal remains
5. The Search for Oil
• Lyne T. Barret—Civil War
veteran who drilled for oil
near Nacogdoches in 1866
• Strikes oil at 106 ft.
• Shut down due to lack of
funds
6. The Search for Oil
• 1886: Oil struck in Bexar
County
• 1889: Texas produces 48
barrels of oil
• 1894: Corsicana oil strike
produces first major oil field in
Texas
7. The Search for Oil
• Derricks—
towers
that
support oil
drilling
equipment
8. The Search for Oil
• 1896: Produced 1,450
barrels of oil
• Refinery—factory where
crude oil is refined, or made
pure, and made into various
products
9. The Search for Oil
• Oil used for:
– Lubricating machinery
– Kerosene for lamps
– Sprinkled on dirt roads to
keep dust down
10. The Spindletop Strike
• Patillo
Higgins—
person who
first drilled
for oil at
Spindletop
Patillo Higgins
11. The Spindletop Strike
• Anthony F.
Lucas—
engineer in
charge of
drilling when
Spindletop
first gushed
oil Anthony F. Lucas
12. The Spindletop Strike
• January 10,
1901: big oil
strike
• Shot 70,000
barrels oil/day
for 9 days
• Oil shot 200 ft.
Spindletop Gusher high
13. Boom & Bust after Spindletop
• Spindletop discovery led to an
economic boom
• 1902: Spindletop produced 20
million barrels of oil—20% of
the oil produced in the U.S.
• Supply of oil outpaced demand
14. Boom & Bust after Spindletop
• Production of oil at Spindletop soon
began to drive the price of
petroluem down
• 1902: oil hit low of 3 cents/barrel
• Spindletop drained of its reserves
