Superior Oil Company was an American
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
company founded in 1921 in
Coalinga, California
Coalinga ( or ) is a city in Fresno County and the western San Joaquin Valley, in central California about 80 miles (128 km) southeast of Salinas.
It was formerly known as ''Coaling Station A'', ''Coalingo'', and ''Coalinga Station''.
Th ...
, by
William Myron Keck
William Myron Keck (April 27, 1880 – August 20, 1964) was an American oil entrepreneur and philanthropist. Founder of Superior Oil Company, author Kevin Krajick has described Keck as "the world's greatest oil prospector, a man whose instin ...
,
[
] 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
Directional drilling (or slant drilling) is the practice of drilling non-vertical bores. It can be broken down into four main groups: oilfield directional drilling, utility installation directional drilling, directional boring (horizontal dire ...
in California.
Moving to
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
.
By 1931 the company had wells in Texas,
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
,
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
and
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
.
In 1938, the company constructed the first
offshore oil platform
An oil platform (or oil rig, offshore platform, oil production platform, and similar terms) is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Many oil platfor ...
off the coast of Louisiana in the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
.
In the 1970s, Superior Oil was involved in the
oil shale industry
The oil shale industry is an industry of mining and processing of oil shale—a fine-grained sedimentary rock, containing significant amounts of kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds), from which liquid hydrocarbons can be manu ...
developing the
Superior multimineral process.
[ In September 1984 the company, then based in Houston, became a wholly owned subsidiary of ]Mobil
Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999.
...
. The company was sold to Mobil Corporation in 1984, merging to it.
History
Background
Company founder William Myron Keck
William Myron Keck (April 27, 1880 – August 20, 1964) was an American oil entrepreneur and philanthropist. Founder of Superior Oil Company, author Kevin Krajick has described Keck as "the world's greatest oil prospector, a man whose instin ...
, also founder of the W. M. Keck Foundation
The W. M. Keck Foundation is an American charitable foundation supporting scientific, engineering, and medical research in the United States. It was founded in 1954 by William Myron Keck, founder and president of Superior Oil Company (now par ...
, started his career as a "roustabout
Roustabout (Australia/New Zealand English: rouseabout) is an occupational term. Traditionally, it referred to a worker with broad-based, non-specific skills. In particular, it was used to describe show or circus workers who handled materials ...
" in the oil business in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, before making his way to California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. In California, he worked as a speculator drilling wells on contract for big oil companies. He often would take payment as leases instead of cash.["Turmoil Plagues Wealthy Keck Family : Whodunit Reveals Problems of the Rich and Feuding"](_blank)
Edwin Chen, ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'', March 19, 1989 Keck was very successful as an oil prospector. In one instance at the height of the oil boom in the 1920s in Los Angeles, he was the only "wildcatter
A wildcatter is an individual who drills wildcat wells, which are exploration oil wells drilled in areas not known to be oil fields. Notable wildcatters include Glenn McCarthy, Thomas Baker Slick Sr., Mike Benedum, Joe Trees, Clem S. Clarke, ...
" to purchase and retain a lease on 300 acres of Andrew Joughin's farm outside Torrance. While other prospectors turned away from the property, Keck's "46 highly productive wells were considered one of California's most successful oil-drilling projects.[ "Big Daddy: Jesse Unruh and the Art of Power Politics""> "Big Daddy: Jesse Unruh and the Art of Power Politics"](_blank)
Bill Boyarsky Keck also struck oil in California's Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 during the 2020 census, maki ...
["William Myron Keck II, grandson of legendary wildcatter, dies at 72"](_blank)
Elaine Woo, ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'', May 14, 2014 and Kettleman Hills oil fields.["Wildcatters: A Story of Texans, Oil, and Money"](_blank)
Sally Helgesen
Sally Helgesen (born July 1, 1948) is an American author, speaker and leadership coach.
Early life and education
Helgesen was born in Minnesota and grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She attended Michigan State University, received her BA degree in ...
, page 175, Quote: Keck started Superior after he made one of the biggest streaks of the 1920s, in California's Kettleman hills. William Keck then became one of the first oilmen to move his business to Houston, which at the time was not much more than an inadequately drained malarial swamp....William Keck was known throughout the company he had created as "the Old Man," and people called him that until the day he died. His character was strong and some said it was mean. His political views were fiercely conservative, but he was nimble and innovative when it came to doing business. He was the first independent to drill offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, and year after year he set records for the deepest-drilled well. He gambled on a big scale and earned Superior the epithet it still carries today, that of being "the Cadillac of the oil business..." William Keck ran his company like a one-man machine, and he retained control of the stock even after it went public. Author Kevin Krajick has described Keck as "the world's greatest oil prospector, a man whose instincts about the location of petroleum were so uncanny, some believed him clairvoyant."["Barren Lands: An Epic Search for Diamonds in the North America Arctic"](_blank)
Kevin Krajick, Open Road Media, Feb 2, 2016. Quote: "This was Howard Keck. Keck was not just any Houston oil billionaire; his father had been William Keck, the world's greatest oil prospector, a man whose instincts about the location of petroleum were so uncanny, some believed him clairvoyant. Starting as a penniless roustabout, he rose in the 1920s to found the Superior Oil Company. He pioneered deep offshore drilling, was first to find commercial deposits in the Gulf of Mexico, and practically ran the oil-rich nation of Venezuela. Even in his later years, when a drilling rig brought up a slimy core, old man Keck sniffed and tasted the rock to gauge the prospect."
1921-1962: Founding and techniques
The Superior Oil Company was founded in 1921 in Coalinga, California
Coalinga ( or ) is a city in Fresno County and the western San Joaquin Valley, in central California about 80 miles (128 km) southeast of Salinas.
It was formerly known as ''Coaling Station A'', ''Coalingo'', and ''Coalinga Station''.
Th ...
, 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
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon d ...
. 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
Directional drilling (or slant drilling) is the practice of drilling non-vertical bores. It can be broken down into four main groups: oilfield directional drilling, utility installation directional drilling, directional boring (horizontal dire ...
in California.["Founder"](_blank)
W. M. Keck Foundation Keck was one of the first oilmen to move his business to Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
, and by 1931, the company had wells in Texas, Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
, Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
, Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...
and Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
.
In 1933, the company was the first to use a reflection seismograph
A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground noises and shaking such as caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The outpu ...
to help with finding hydrocarbons. The company was also a "pioneer" in deep offshore drilling
Offshore drilling is a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled below the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently extract petroleum that lies in rock formations beneath the seabed. Most commonly, the t ...
. The first independent to drill offshore in the Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
and the first to find commercial deposits in the Gulf of Mexico, in 1938, the company constructed the first offshore oil platform
An oil platform (or oil rig, offshore platform, oil production platform, and similar terms) is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Many oil platfor ...
off the coast of Louisiana in cooperation with Pure Oil
Pure Oil Company was an American petroleum company founded in 1914 and sold to what is now Union Oil Company of California in 1965. The Pure Oil name returned in 1993 as a cooperative (based in Rock Hill, South Carolina since 2008) which has grow ...
, 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."
The marble-clad Superior Oil Company Building was constructed in 1952 in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
["The Standard"](_blank)
American Institute of Architects, November 16, 2012 as an office building
An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific ...
by the Keck family["'50s-Era Downtown High-Rise Slated to Be Turned Into Hotel"](_blank)
Jesus Sanchez, ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'', January 25, 2000 to serve as the headquarters for Superior Oil Company.[Standard Hotel, Downtown Los Angeles website](_blank)
/ref> Completed in 1955, the Modern architecture
Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that for ...
12 story structure was designed by Claud Beelman
Claud W. Beelman (1883 – January 30, 1963), sometimes known as ''Claude Beelman'', was an American architect who designed many examples of Beaux-Arts, Art Deco, and Streamline Moderne style buildings. Many of his buildings are listed on the N ...
["The Standard, Downtown LA"](_blank)
laconservancy.org and became "one of the area's most significant examples of the postwar modernism style popular in corporate architecture during the 1950s."
1963-1983: Change in leadership
From the company's founding in 1921 until 1963, Superior Oil was led by its founder, W. M. Keck. Running his company like a "one-man machine," Keck kept control of the company's stock after it went public. The elder Keck served as chairman of Superior, and at the time of his death in 1964, his family owned 51 per cent of Superior's shares.
Robert Metz, ''The New York Times'', August 28, 1964 Upon Keck's death, his son William M. Keck Jr. became Superior's chief executive officer, followed by leadership from Keck's second son Howard B. Keck
Howard Brighton Keck (September 20, 1913 – December 14, 1996) was an American businessman. He was also a Thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder, and the owner of an auto racing team that twice won the Indianapolis 500.
Early life
Born in ...
["Family Feud at Superior Oil"](_blank)
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', April 30, 1983 from 1963 until 1981.[
] Upon Keck's death, 11,000 shares of Superior stock, valued at $17 million in 1964, were placed in trust to be divided among the University of Southern California, Pomona College
Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became t ...
, Occidental College, and the Episcopal Church of Our Saviour, San Gabriel, California.
In the 1970s, Superior Oil was involved in the oil shale industry
The oil shale industry is an industry of mining and processing of oil shale—a fine-grained sedimentary rock, containing significant amounts of kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds), from which liquid hydrocarbons can be manu ...
developing the Superior multimineral process.[
][
] In 1976, its revenues were $441 million. By 1978, Mobil was suing Superior Oil for "raiding" talent by hiring 32 of Mobil's exploration and production experts.["We Gambled Everything: The Life and Times of an Oilman"](_blank)
Arne Nielsen Howard Keck retired as chairman in 1981, but retained "firm control" of the board. In September 1981, chairman and CEO Joseph E. Reid resigned from his positions, succeeded by former president and COO Fred C. Ackman, who also remained president.
Phillip H. Wiggins, ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', September 5, 1981 At the end of 1982, the company had domestic crude oil reserves of 139 million barrels, and domestic natural gas reserves of 1.8 trillion cubic feet. Unlike many other oil companies of the time, it had no petroleum refining and marketing operations. Superior Oil's 1983 sales came to $1.8 billion.
1983-1984: Acquisition by Mobil
In October 1983, Howard B. Keck stepped down as a director, while still controlling 18.4 percent of the company, saying he wanted to sell his stake. In late 1983, an "uneasy truce" was reached between two major stockholders, former chairman Howard B. Keck and his sister Willametta Keck Day. Day had in April of that year "led a stockholder revolt" leading to changes in Superior's bylaws, requiring the company's management to consider takeover bids. Howard Keck had opposed the bylaw change. He reversed his position on the bylaws November 1983 and disclosed his intention to sell his stake.["Ex-Chairman Offering His Superior Oil Stock"](_blank)
Thomas J. Lueck, November 22, 1983 Several months before March 1984, the Keck family, which owned a total of about 22 percent of the stock of Superior, approached Mobil Corporation (now part of ExxonMobil) with an offer to sell the family stock.
In March 1984, Mobil announced that it had "secretly" agreed to buy the 22 percent, and would offer the company's remaining stockholders the same price, at $45 a share.["Superior Oil Gets Offer From Mobil"](_blank)
Robert J. Cole, ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', March 12, 1984 In March 1984, Superior Oil was in the process of being acquired by Mobil for $5.7 billion.["Mobil Agrees To Buy Superior For $5.7 Billion"](_blank)
Mark Potts, ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'', March 12, 1984 At that time the company was the nation's largest independent oil producer. The takeover was completed in September 1984, with Superior, then based in Houston, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Mobil.["Mobile completes Superior Takeover"](_blank)
September 28, 1984, UPI.com It was the fifth-largest oil merger in history, with the combined companies having over $60 billion in combined sales. Among other changes, in February 1985 it was reported that Mobil was planning on selling an unprofitable Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Monta ...
gold mine it had acquired when it purchased Superior."Mobil Plans To Sell Gold Mine In Idaho"
''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'', February 22, 1985, United Press International
See also
* Superior Oil Company Building
References
Further reading
''The Mobil Corporation-Superior Oil Merger--a Case Study in Abnormal Returns''
Michael Edsall Carboy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...
, Sloan School of Management
The MIT Sloan School of Management (MIT Sloan or Sloan) is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
MIT Sloan offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs, ...
, 1987
{{Authority control
Defunct oil companies of the United States
Petroleum in California
Companies based in Los Angeles
Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles
Former ExxonMobil subsidiaries