Seven Sisters

Gulf's Spindletop in Texas 1901

Tom Connolly of Texas

Seven Sisters (the "majors"): Exxon (was Rockefeller's Standard Oil Co.), Shell, BP (privatized since 1979), Mobil (was Socony), Chevron (was Doheny's Socal), Gulf (was owned by Mellons until sold to Chevron), Texaco
BP dominates Iran from 1908 Anglo-Persian Co. and built the first Mideast pipeline to refinery at Abadan - 1936 map
Sykes-Picot carved up Mideast - red line map
IPC gave 20% to Exxon 1922
Venezuela fields opened 1922 by Creole Petroleum (49% by Standard, 36% by Shell, 14% by Gulf)
Baku in Russia, Tampico in Mexico

Brea in Los Angeles 1892 & Chevron Oil Co.
Spindletop in Texas 1901 & Gulf Oil Co.
Lakeview gusher 1910 near Taft
photo of Mr. & Mrs. Ed. Doheny with defense council Frank Hogan during 1924 Teapot Dome scandal - NY Trib cartoon by Darling
Elk Hill Reserve panoramas and pictures
no antitrust after 1911; 1913 depletion allowance
Petroleum War Service Committee under Baruch's WIB
- J. Harry Covington of Covington and Burling
Revenue Act of 1918 restored depletion allowance that encouraged world-wide exploration for new oil fields; Act passed due to influence of Covington, Edward Doheny (leading contributor to Democratic party 1916), Andrew Mellon, Henry Doherty (Cities Service in Okla.), Harry Sinclair in Kansas.
After oil seeps were found in 1917 on the 89,000 square miles of the Alaska North Slope by the U.S. Geological Survey, 123 million acres set aside in 1923 as Naval Petroleum Reserve Number 4 for the U.S. Navy converting from coal to oil. However, Texas oil discoveries met current needs and Alaskan oil was ignored until 1968.
American Petroleum Institute 1918 created cartel
Tom Connolly & Texas Railroad Commission 1919
"Many Faces of Texas" map from Time, 1/17/1964
Houston Ship Channel built 1914, became 3rd largest U.S. port
East Texas field at Kilgore Dallas - Dad Joiner hits the Daisy Bradford gusher 1930, Texaco company & H.L. Hunt