The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 61, July 1957 - April, 1958 Page: 329
591 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Oil Industry in Texas since Pearl Harbor
highly skilled technical men and lease employees left the industry
to serve in the armed forces, agencies of the government, and
defense plants. That the industry was able to cope with the situa-
tion, however, is demonstrated by the fact that productive capacity
was not only maintained but was increased, and by the further
fact that while the total number of wells completed in the state
dropped 50 per cent from 1941 to 1942, the number of new fields
discovered in 1942 was i2 per cent greater than in 1941. Signifi-
cant discoveries during the first year of all-out effort included
first commercial production of oil in Coke, Hunt, San Jacinto,
Wilson, and Wise counties, first production in North Texas from
the Simpson formation, and the first production in the state from
the Viola lime. In the years immediately following were such
discoveries as the TXL and Block 3 1 fields and commercial pro-
duction from the Devonian in West Texas. At the same time the
recovery of liquid hydrocarbons by cycling moved ahead rapidly
with the completion of such plants as La Gloria, Katy, and
Sheridan, all in the coastal area.
As a result of restricted but most effective exploration and
development during the war years, Texas was able to supply nec-
essary production, not only without waste, but also while main-
taining excess productive capacity as shown by the fact that shut-
down days were continued throughout the period. Development
in the Panhandle was greatly restricted in 1942 following a ruling
by the Petroleum Administration for War that exploration for
gas in that area should be discontinued.
The need for rubber and other highly specialized products
caused a tremendous expansion in the petrochemical industry, the
foundations for which had been laid along the Gulf Coast in 1941.
By the end of 1943 there were eight completed plants for produc-
ing butadiene, eight completed plants for producing oo-octane
gasoline, and plants for producing tolulene and other products,
with additional plants under construction.
With the close of the war in 1945, there came another period
of radical adjustment. The end of hostilities in August was almost
immediately reflected in a reduction by the Railroad Commission
of some 370,000 barrels daily in the state's allowable production
for the month of September. Prior to V-J Day the industry had329
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 61, July 1957 - April, 1958, periodical, 1958; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101164/m1/407/: accessed May 2, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.