The Petroleum industry in the United States has a long history that spans back before America was discovered by Europe. Before companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corp. were drilling for oil on American land, the Native Americans found a thick black substance seeping from the ground which could be used to waterproof their canoes and tepees.

Native Americans also used this substance as medicine, to dissolve the war paint for their bodies, and for tanning the skin of animals. Oil was first found by Spanish explorers on the beaches of Texas. An explorer named Desoto found a tar like substance on the Texas beaches that he used for waterproofing his boats.

The Birth of Oil Drilling

After this initial discovery in 1850, oil was next discovered in Texas in the year 1850 through the process of drilling. The oil was used primarily for its medicinal properties, as the automobile revolution was still years in the future.  

The petroleum industry in the United States as we know it today, is comprised of separate companies for consultancy, exploration, drilling, developing and marketing petroleum products as well as large conglomerates which provide all of these services. All of this started when Anthony Lucas, a Louisiana born mining engineer, started drilling based on his theory that oil wells were generally found near salt domes.

He has started drilling on the top of a low hill that he thought might yield a salt dome, but was initially unsuccessful. Just when he was on the verge of giving up, mud began shooting out which was soon followed by oil. Such fountains of oil are called gushers. This particular gusher rose to a height of 150 feet. No one had ever seen such a high gusher, nor such a huge amount of oil.

Lucas was correct in the assumption that oil and salt mines were connected. When salt moves up through the earth under high levels of heat and pressure, it breaks through and bends any rocky layers in its path. When salt moves up in this manner it forms a salt dome, which acts as a trap containing the oil.

The Petroleum Boom

Lucas’s oil well was America’s biggest find. It produced close to 800,000 barrels in 8 days before its intensity fell, allowing Lucas’s crew to control it at last. The well produced more than 17 million oil barrels the following year.

This discovery led to a huge boom in the economy and population of Spindletop. Beaumont, the closest town, increased four times in size. Such a huge boom attracted a large number of drilling companies to Spindletop. Over 100 companies drilled close to 200 wells in the years following Lucas’s discovery. Companies like Gulf Oil, Amoco, and Exxon all had their beginnings in the Texas oil boom at Spindletop. Due to the large number of wells, production declined down to 10,000 barrels a day by 1904.

In 1904, oil wasn’t the primary fuel. In those days, oil was used only for lighting lamps and to create a few medicines. This sudden boom in oil production allowed ships and trains to switch to burning oil instead of coal and soon automobiles and airplanes joined in as well.