The Port Arthur Refinery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Port Arthur Refinery. Now settle in, because this story starts with a sound. January 1901, and the ground out at Spindletop Oil Field just up and erupted.

The Lucas Gusher blew, and right then and there, Texas announced itself as a major oil source and touched off an economic boom the likes of which the state had never seen. The new town of Port Arthur, sitting close enough to practically smell it, benefited tremendously from that proximity. Early 1901, a consortium of men from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, put together the J.

M. Guffey Petroleum Company to finance and develop an industry around the oil from Spindletop leases. Now, crude oil gushing out of the ground is one thing.

Turning it into something useful is another thing entirely. They needed refining facilities. They needed a sales organization.

So on November 10, 1901, that consortium chartered the Gulf Refining Company and built a refinery right there at Port Arthur, for the purpose of making crude oil into a usable commodity. Early products rolling out of that refinery included gasoline, kerosene, and engine oil. The pieces were falling into place.

Then in 1907, the assets of J. M. Guffey Petroleum and Gulf Refining were merged into something bigger.

The Gulf Oil Corporation. By the end of 1910, Port Arthur was the company's lone refinery, standing out there on its own until a second one was built in Fort Worth the following year. After World War I, innovative production, refining, and retailing techniques kept Gulf Oil on solid economic footing.

That's not nothing. A lot of companies that rode booms didn't survive the quieter years. Gulf Oil did.

After World War II, expansion kept right on coming, and by 1955, Gulf Oil had become the nation's largest producer of ethylene. By 1960, the Port Arthur facility was refining two hundred and seventy thousand barrels of crude oil every single day and turning them into six hundred different products. Six hundred.

That refinery had come a long way from kerosene and engine oil. In 1984, Gulf Oil became part of Chevron. Then in 1995, Clark Refining took ownership of the Port Arthur plant.

In 2000, Clark's name was changed to Premcor. Through all those hands, all those names, all those decades, the Port Arthur refinery held onto an excellent safety record and remained a significant factor in the city's development as a major petrochemical center. One gusher in January 1901.

And Port Arthur is still refining what it started.

What the marker says

The eruption of the Lucas Gusher at the Spindletop Oil Field in January 1901 established Texas as a major oil source and signaled the beginning of a significant economic boom to the state. The new town of Port Arthur benefited tremendously from its proximity to the oil field. In early 1901, a consortium of men from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, formed the J. M. Guffey Petroleum Company to finance and develop an industry for the oil from its Spindletop leases. In need of refining facilities and a sales organization, the consortium chartered the Gulf Refining Company on November 10, 1901, and built a refinery at Port Arthur for the purpose of making the crude oil into a usable commodity. Early products of the refining company included gasoline, kerosene and engine oil. In 1907, assets of the J. M. Guffey Petroleum and Gulf Refining companies were merged into the Gulf Oil Corporation. At the end of 1910, Port Arthur was the company's lone refinery until a second was built in Fort Worth the following year. Innovative production, refining and retailing techniques after World War I kept the company on solid economic footing. Expansion continued after World War II, and by 1955, Gulf Oil was the nation's largest producer of ethylene. By 1960, the Port Arthur facility was refining 270,000 barrels of crude oil per day into 600 different products. Gulf Oil became part of Chevron in 1984. In 1995, Clark Refining took ownership of the Port Arthur plant, and in 2000, Clark's name was changed to Premcor. Upholding an excellent safety record, the Port Arthur refinery has been a significant factor in the city's development as a major petrochemical center. (2001)