Drillers searching for water found oil at Corsicana in 1894. The Texas General Land Office identifies it as the state’s first economically significant oil operation. Spindletop’s 1901 gusher near Beaumont accelerated investment in Texas oilfields and related businesses.
The East Texas Oilfield discovery in 1930 increased production, contributing to oversupply and falling prices. The Railroad Commission of Texas had received oil and gas production authority in 1919. During the 1930s, it used proration to limit well output and address waste.
Mitchell Energy tested methods for producing Barnett Shale gas during the 1980s and 1990s. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing later made more shale resources commercially accessible. Development spread to other Texas plays, including the Eagle Ford. The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s shale study describes these developments.
Four milestones in Texas energy
- 1894CorsicanaOil found while drilling for water
- 1901SpindletopA gusher accelerates the oil boom
- 1930East TexasA major field expands supply
- 1980s-1990sBarnett ShaleExperiments advance commercial shale gas