Rise of the Texas oil industry: Part 4 Guffey's new company

摘要

The year was 1901. One of the great oil companies of the 20th century, one of the first to arise in Texas and one of the first to give Standard Oil serious concerns, was about to be born. As soon as the Lucas gusher (the Spindletop discovery well) was brought under control, the J.M. Guffey Company (i.e., the Guffey-Galey-Lucas partnership) moved to acquire additional leases at Big Hill and on other prospects similar to their Spindletop strike. In May 1901, after drilling two more successful wells on Spindletop and acquiring one million acres of "very promising" leases, Guffey formed a new company. His major backers were the prominent Pittsburgh bankers Andrew W. and Richard B. Mellon.