by Bruce Wells | Apr 6, 2026 | This Week in Petroleum History
April 7, 1902 – Spindletop Boom brings The Texas Company –
Joseph “Buckskin Joe” Cullinan and Arnold Schlaet established The Texas Company in Beaumont to transport and refine oil from Spindletop Hill, a giant oilfield discovered in January 1901. The new company constructed a kerosene refinery in Port Arthur — and discovered an oilfield at Sour Lake Springs, where its Fee No. 3 well produced 5,000 barrels of oil a day in 1903. (more…)
by Bruce Wells | Feb 2, 2026 | This Week in Petroleum History
February 2, 1923 – First Anti-Knock Gas goes on Sale –
The world’s first anti-knock gasoline containing a tetra-ethyl lead compound went on sale at the Refiners Oil Company service station in Dayton, Ohio. Discovered two years earlier by General Motors scientists, “Ethyl” vastly improved engine performance. The company initially provided service stations with bolt-on adapters called “Ethylizers” to meter the proper proportion of the new additive. (more…)
