A wildcatter is an individual who
drill
A drill is a tool used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a drill bit for making holes, or a screwdriver bit for securing fasteners. Historically, they were powered by hand, and later mains power, but cordless b ...
s
wildcat wells, which are exploration
oil well
An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas m ...
s drilled in areas not known to be
oil field
A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the prese ...
s. Notable wildcatters include
Glenn McCarthy,
Thomas Baker Slick Sr.,
Mike Benedum,
Joe Trees,
Clem S. Clarke, and
Columbus Marion Joiner; Joiner is responsible for finding the
East Texas Oil Field
The East Texas Oil Field is a large oil reservoir, oil and gas field in east Texas. Covering and parts of five counties, and having 30,340 historic and active oil wells, it is the second-largest oil field in the United States outside Alaska, a ...
in 1930.
The term was used in the early oil industry in western
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. Oil wells in unproven territory were called "wild cat" wells from mid-1870, and those who drilled them were called "wild-catters" by 1876. For instance, the
Titusville ''Herald'' noted in 1880: "The discovery of the fluid in
New York State
New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...
was the signal for a general exodus of wildcatters from all parts of the oil country ..."
Etymology
According to tradition, the origin of the term in the petroleum industry comes from Wildcat Hollow, now in
Oil Creek State Park
Oil Creek State Park is a List of Pennsylvania state parks, Pennsylvania state park on in Cherrytree Township, Pennsylvania, Cherrytree, Cornplanter Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania, Cornplanter and Oil Creek Township, Venango County, Pen ...
near
Titusville,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. Wildcat Hollow was one of the many productive fields in the early oil era. An old story claims that a speculator who was drilling in this narrow valley shot a wildcat, had it stuffed, and set it atop his derrick, and that the mounted cat gave its name to the hollow. The same story claims that because the area was largely untested and somewhat away from Oil Creek Flats, the term "wildcatter" was coined to refer to a person who risked drilling for oil in any unproven area.
''Wildcat'' was American slang for any risky business venture by 1838, long before the rise of the petroleum industry. An example was the
wildcat banking
Wildcat banking was the issuance of paper currency in the United States of America, United States by poorly capitalized state-chartered banks. These wildcat banks existed alongside more stable state banks during the Free Banking Era from 1836 to ...
of the 1850s. Directors of wildcat banks in the Midwest were known as "wild-catters" before
Edwin Drake
Edwin Laurentine Drake (March 29, 1819 – November 9, 1880), also known as Colonel Drake, was an American businessman and the first American to successfully drill for oil.
Early life
Drake was born in Greenville, New York, on March 29, 18 ...
's discovery of oil in Pennsylvania.
["Wild-cats in Iowa," Chicago ''Tribune'', December 28, 1857, p.2 c.5.]
See also
*
Hydrocarbon exploration
Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth's crust using petroleum geology.
Exploration methods
...
*
William M. Keck
References
{{reflist
External links
Wildcatters and oil barons of America
Petroleum production
History of the petroleum industry in the United States
Oil exploration