by Bruce Wells | Jan 28, 2019 | Petroleum Companies
Alas, there is very little chance your newly found old oil stock certificate will lead to petroleum riches here at Old Oil Stocks in progress G. Few come close to Not a Millionaire from Old Oil Stock about a certificate that spawned lengthy litigation with the Coca-Cola Company.
The American Oil & Gas Historical Society, which depends on your support, does not have resources for extensive research. As AOGHS looks into forum queries as part of its energy education mission, investigations have revealed interesting stories like Mrs. Dysart’s Uraniu Well and Buffalo Bill’s Shoshone Oil Company; others have found questionable dealings during booms and “black gold” fever epidemics like Arctic Explorer turns Oil Promoter.
Visit the Stock Certificate Q & A Forum for updates frequently added to the A-to-Z listing in Is my Old Oil Stock worth Anything? AOGHS will continue to look into forum queries, including these “in progress.”
Garfield Oil & Refining Company
The Oklahoma business records department can provide incorporation information on the Garfield Oil & Refining Company, which had properties near Nowata but does not appear to have prospered.
Gate City-Wyoming Oil & Gas Company
The Gate City-Wyoming Oil and Gas Company incorporated in Idaho July 10, 1917, with Pocatello, Idaho, physician Dr. O.B. Steeley as president. The company acquired leases in Wyoming’s Lost Soldier Dome (640 acres); Rattlesnake Dome (640 acres); Laramie Dome (160 acres); and Rock Springs Dome (640 acres). Curiously, the company’s officers and property were also recorded as the Gate City Oil & Gas Company. Dr. Steeley died suddenly in June 1920. The Idaho secretary of state may have further information, but the company’s last filing was in September 1923. Its charter was forfeited on December 1, 1924. Read about other Wyoming wildcatters in First Wyoming Oil Wells and Buffalo Bill’s Shone Oil Company.
Gatex Oil Company
Gatex Oil Company incorporated in Delaware March 1, 1920. The company undertook exploratory “wildcat” drilling in northeast Texas’ Hopkins and Bowie counties with plans to drill in Hunt County. But in Hopkins County, its Davis No. 1 well was abandoned after reaching 2,020 feet deep without finding oil. Similarly in Bowie County, its Perkins No. 1 well was shut down at 1,570 feet deep with no success. Wildcat drilling on unproven land has always been risky; early failures have often exhausted under-capitalized ventures. This seems to have been the case with Gatex Oil Company, which was dissolved on June 4, 1936. (more…)
by Bruce Wells | Feb 15, 2015 | Petroleum Companies
The Los Angeles City oilfield at the turn of the century. Photograph courtesy of the California History Room, California State Library, Sacramento.
There have been many Golden Gate Oil companies. None survived long in the risky business of drilling expensive “wildcat” exploration wells even in proven oilfields.
A Golden Gate Oil Company founded in 1921 by John Flynn, Robert Tarrants and others was capitalized at $250,000. It would spend several years drilling wells in the booming Los Angeles oilfields.
There was also a 1902 Golden Gate Oil and Refining Company incorporated in South Dakota that quickly disappeared from the records. Another Golden Gate Oil Company incorporated in San Francisco in 1900, capitalized at $500,000, but also apparently became defunct.
Yet another Golden Gate Oil operated in Oklahoma’s Healdton oilfield in 1916 and drilled three wells, each producing 25 barrels a day. It also drilled at least one dry hole before exiting the state’s financial records.
(Discovered in 1913, the Healdton oilfield was known as a “poor man’s field,” because of its shallow depth and consequent low cost of drilling operations. The area attracted small companies with limited financial backing to compete with major oil companies. Among independents who succeeded at Healdton were Wirt Franklin, Lloyd Noble and Robert Hefner. Erle Halliburton perfected his method of oil well cementing in the field. Visit the Healdton Oil Museum.)
The 1921 Golden Gate Oil Company founded by Flynn and Tarrants brought in three producers in the Los Angeles oilfield between 1922 and 1923.
Although California Department of Conservation records offer maps where these wells were drilled in the Los Angeles area, they do not include the fate of the company. Learn about the city’s petroleum exploration and production history in Discovering Los Angeles Oilfields.
These “golden gate” oil companies failed, as have many in an industry that depends upon discovering commercial quantities of oil before running out of money in the high-risk gamble of exploration. Today their stocks retain only collectible value which can be found on eBay, Scripophily, and other sites.
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The stories of other attempts to join petroleum exploration booms (and avoid busts) can be found in an updated series of research at Is my Old Oil Stock worth Anything?
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