Transcript Its a Gusher.ppt

Spindletop
A discovery that
changed Texas forever
Examine these photos
and respond to the
questions in Part 1 of
your student activity
sheet.
Sittin’ on gold--black gold that is
Oil was discovered in Texas by
Native Americans.
They found a
black substance
seeping from
certain places in
the earth.
They had several uses for oil such
as waterproofing canoes.
However, the potential for this
black substance went untapped
until….
Anthony F. Lucas
began drilling in salt
dome deposits near
Beaumont in October
of 1900.
Texas was
changed
forever when
Lucas hit a
gusher at
Spindletop in
January,1901.
The Spindletop Oil Field and the oil
beneath was a pleasant surprise for
Texans.
News of the gusher spread
around the world.
New people and new industries
came to Texas almost overnight.
How was Texas transformed?
Your assignment is to learn more
about this great discovery
through document analysis.
Read the instructions for Part 2
of you student activity sheet
and complete the document
analysis.
Spindletop ushered in the great oil
boom in Texas.
Oil companies and wildcatters, or
speculators willing to gamble and drill
in places not known for oil, began
drilling.
jet fuel
butane
marine diesel
One such wildcatter was Columbus
“Dad” Joiner.
List partly compiled from information from the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil
and Gas Association and
the Texas Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association.
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ls
s
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Dad Joiner and the crew at the Daisy Bradford #3 in Overton, Texas.
he struck gold in East
Texas in 1930.
Dad Joiner
went broke
several times
drilling for oil
until...
Joiner’s discovery became known as
the East Texas Oil Field.
In a little over 40 years, this field
produced more than 4 billion
barrels of oil.
It accounted for 1/10 of the oil
produced in the United States.
Unfortunately, all good things
must come to an end.
By the end of 1931,
the East Texas field
had 3,600 wells.
Only a couple of
years later, the
field had 26,000
wells.
Sounds good, but...
The rapid growth in oil production
reduced the price of oil from
$1.10 a barrel
to
10 cents a barrel
in a matter of a few months.
The boom was followed by a bust.
Regulation and discoveries in
West Texas helped bring
Texas out of this initial
bust, but the boom/ bust
cycle has continued through
the years.
Boom and
Bust
Today, petroleum is still
key to the Texas
economy.
However...
we have had to diversify our economy
and develop other industries so that
we are not totally dependent on oil.
One such industry is the petrochemical
industry.
Petrochemicals are chemicals or
products made from oil and natural
gas.
In part 3 of this lesson you will be
discovering more about petrochemical
products. Your teacher will give you
further instructions.