The boom in the oil industry also helped promote other industries in other areas of the state. Lumber production thrived as demand climbed for construction of railroads, refineries, and oil derricks, and, in 1907, Texas was the third largest lumber producer in the United States.

Carroll, Pattillo Higgins, Emma E. John, and J. F. Lanier, was the first company to drill on Spindletop Hill. Three shallow attempts, beginning in 1893 and using cable-tool drilling equipment were unsuccessful; Lanier and Higgins had left the company by 1895.

As the first oilfield in the U.S. Gulf Coast, Spindletop inspired further drilling and oil discoveries in the region. Drilling in other salt fields proved to be very successful. In a short time, the Gulf Coast became a major oil region. During that time, Texaco and Gulf Oil grew into major oil producers.

With Pattillo Higgins he organized the drilling of an oil well near Beaumont, Texas, that became known as Spindletop. This led to the widespread exploitation of oil and the start of the petroleum age….Anthony Francis Lucas.

Lyne Taliaferro Barret

The first Texas oil boom arrived in the summer of 1894 when the Corsicana oilfield is discovered by a drilling contractor hired by the city to find water. By the end of 1898 there were almost 300 producing wells in the Corsicana. In 1923 a second, even larger oil field brought renewed prosperity.

When oil came gushing into Texas early in the 20th century, the changes were even more profound. Petroleum began to displace agriculture as the principal engine driving the economy of the state, and Texans’ lives were even more drastically affected than they had been by railroads.

How did supply and demand affect the economy of Texas in the 1930’s ? Overproduction led to price decreases. Texas had a moderate climate and large expanses of land.

Today, oil and gas account for roughly 9 percent of the state’s GDP, but this figure is disproportionate to employment within the state. In 2018, oil and gas extraction only accounted for 1.5 percent of all Texas employment.

EIA expects crude oil prices to rise through April because of lower OPEC production. As a result of the extension of OPEC+ production cuts, EIA expects draws on global petroleum and other liquids inventories of 1.8 million b/d and 0.6 million b/d in the first and second quarters of 2021, respectively.

Unit 10 Age of Oil

Craddick said earlier this month that the oil and gas industry comprises 35% of the Texas economy. The oil and gas industry has comprised as much as 40% of the state economy during the last decade’s fracking boom, yet shrunk to 30% before the pandemic shocked the world economy.