What was the first company to drill for oil in Venezuela?
16852238#4
Despite the knowledge of the existence of oil reserves in Venezuela for centuries, the first oil wells of significance were not drilled until the early 1910s. In 1908, Juan Vicente Gómez replaced his ailing predecessor, Cipriano Castro, as the president of Venezuela. Over the next few years, Gómez granted several concessions to explore, produce, and refine oil. Most of these oil concessions were granted to his closest friends, and they in turn passed them on to foreign oil companies that could actually develop them. One such concession was granted to Rafael Max Valladares who hired Caribbean Petroleum Company (later acquired by Royal Dutch Shell) to carry out his oil exploration project. On 15 April 1914, upon the completion of the (now called MG-I) oil well, the first Venezuelan oilfield of importance, , was discovered by Caribbean Petroleum in the Maracaibo Basin. This major discovery encouraged a massive wave of foreign oil companies to Venezuela in an attempt to get a piece of the action.
History of the Venezuelan oil industry
2711343#3
In 1933, the company was the first to use a reflection seismograph to help with finding hydrocarbons. The company was also a "pioneer" in deep offshore drilling. The first independent to drill offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and the first to find commercial deposits in the Gulf of Mexico, in 1938, the company constructed the first offshore oil platform off the coast of Louisiana in cooperation with Pure Oil, another independent producer. In the Gulf, Superior set consecutive records for the deepest-drilled well. The company also became the largest independent oil producer in the United States, and according to author Kevin Krajick, Keck "practically ran the oil-rich nation of Venezuela."
Superior Oil Company
2711343#0
Superior Oil Company (1921–1984) was an independent American oil company that is now part of ExxonMobil. Founded in 1921 in Coalinga, California, by William Myron Keck, Superior Oil began as a drilling contracting firm and grew into the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. In 1930 the company was the first to successfully use directional drilling in California. Moving to Houston, Texas, by 1931 the company had wells in Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Louisiana and Venezuela. In 1938, the company constructed the first offshore oil platform off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. In the 1970s, Superior Oil was involved in the oil shale industry developing the Superior multimineral process. In September 1984 the company, then based in Houston, became a wholly owned subsidiary of Mobil.
Superior Oil Company
2711343#2
The Superior Oil Company was founded in 1921 in Coalinga, California, by Keck, after he had accumulated enough leases to start his own firm. Superior Oil began as a drilling contracting firm and grew into other oil services including exploration and production of oil and natural gas. The company soon focused on the exploration and production of oil and gas, and was involved with a number of new methods. In 1930 the company was the first to successfully use directional drilling in California. Keck was one of the first oilmen to move his business to Houston, Texas, and by 1931, the company had wells in Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Louisiana and Venezuela.
Superior Oil Company
28266720#9
In 2009, China entered into a partnership with Venezuela to launch a railway company in Venezuela which will be 40% controlled by the China Railways Engineering Corporation (CREC) and the remainder by Venezuela. Venezuela outlined the role of the venture as one which would link Venezuela's oil producing regions and agricultural farming areas. In September 2009 Venezuela announced a new $16bn deal with China to drill for oil in a joint venture with PDVSA to produce of extra heavy crude. Hugo Chavez stated that "In addition, there will be a flood of technology into the country, with China going to build drilling platforms, oil rigs, railroads, houses.". In September 2013, China decided to lend $50bn over 5 years to finance 201 housing projects in Venezuela.
China–Venezuela relations
25184863#7
The area was worked initially in 1885, followed by Ventura County Power Company drilling 7 shallow gas wells in 1903. While they reached depths of between 400 and , it is not known if they produced oil. In May 1916 the first commercially viable well, No. "Lloyd" 1, was drilled by State Consolidated Oil Company to a depth of 2,555 feet. Initial production consisted of 100 barrels a day. Shell Oil drilled the first well into what is now known as the 2nd Pool, in the Pico Formation, in March 1919, reaching a depth of .
Ventura Oil Field
6896458#36
Despite diplomatic protests from Venezuela, the government of Guyana awarded the American oil corporation Exxon a license to drill for oil in the disputed maritime area in early 2015. In May the government of Guyana announced that Exxon had indeed found promising results in their first round of drilling on the so-called Stabroek Block, an area offshore the Guayana Esequiba territory with a size of . The company announced that further drillings would take place in the coming months to better evaluate the potential of the oil field. Venezuela responded to the declaration with a decree issued on 27 May 2015, including the maritime area in dispute in its national marine protection sphere, thus extending the area that the Venezuelan Navy controls into the disputed area. This in turn caused the government of Guyana to summon the Venezuelan ambassador for further explanation. The tensions have further intensified since and Guyana withdrew the operating license of Conviasa, the Venezuelan national airline, stranding a plane and passengers in Georgetown.
Guayana Esequiba
2711577#5
In 1933, under Keck the company was the first to use a reflection seismograph to help with finding hydrocarbons. Keck was a "pioneer" in deep offshore drilling, and in 1938, the company constructed the first offshore oil platform off the coast of Louisiana. The first independent to drill offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, he was the first to find commercial deposits in the Gulf of Mexico, where he set consecutive records for the deepest-drilled well. Running his company like a "one-man machine," he kept control of the company's stock after it went public. The company also became the largest independent oil producer in the United States. According to author Kevin Krajick, Keck also "practically ran the oil-rich nation of Venezuela." Keck was an active stalwart of the oil lobby politically, in part through his attorney Harold Morton and lobbyist Monroe Butler. Upon his death in 1964, his son William M. Keck Jr. became Superior's chief executive officer, followed by leadership from his second son Howard. He served as chairman of Superior. At one point, his fortune was estimated at $160 million, and at the time of his death, he and his family owned 51 per cent of Superior's shares.
William Myron Keck
2133976#1
He then began highly profitable oil operations in Tampico, Mexico's "golden belt", drilling the first well in the nation in 1901. He expanded operations during the Mexican Revolution, and opened large new oil fields in Lake Maracaibo (Venezuela). His holdings developed as the Pan American Petroleum & Transport Company, one of the largest oil companies in the world in the 1920s.
Edward L. Doheny
3896816#2
He moved to Alberta in the fall of 1950 and founded Peter Bawden Drilling in 1952 shortly after his arrival in Calgary. In 1960, at the age of 31, Peter Bawden’s first drilling rig struck oil. With its acquisition of Trident Drilling, Bawden Drilling became Canada’s largest drilling company. In 1968, Peter Bawden Drilling acquired Brown Drilling in California. Thereafter, as a land drilling contractor, Bawden expanded the company's on-shore operations throughout North America, from the Arctic to the Gulf of Mexico, to Norway, Algeria, Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia, Philippines, Guatemala, Venezuela, Colombia, Madagascar, and the Middle East. Eventually having operations on every continent in the world.
Peter Bawden