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EM PLOYM ENT OUTLOOK IN

PETROLEUM
PRODUCTION
AND REFININ

Job Prospects
Duties
Training
Earnings
Working Conditions

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
M A U RICE J. TOBIN, Secretary

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
E W A N C L A G U E , Commissioner

In cooperation with VETERANS ADMINISTRATION



O CCU PA TIO N A L O U T LO O K SERIES

Bulletin No. 994




Cover picture shows a rotary-drilling derrick.

Employment Outlook in
PETR O LEU M
AND

P R O D U C T IO N

R E F IN IN G

Bulletin No. 994
UNITED STATES DEPARTM ENT O F L A B O R
Maurice J. Tobin, Secretary
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Ewan Clague, Commissioner

In cooperation with
V E T ER A N S A D M IN ISTR A TIO N

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. - Price 30 cents



LETTER O F T R A N S M IT T A L

U n it e d S t a t e s D e p a r t m e n t o f L a b o r ,
B u r e a u o f L a b o r S t a t is t ic s ,
W a s h in g t o n , D . C ., September 1 ,

1950.

The S e c r e t a r y o f L a b o r :
I have the honor to transmit herewith a report on the employment outlook in petroleum production
and refining occupations. This is one of a series of occupational studies conducted in the Bureau’s
Occupational Outlook Branch for use in schools, colleges, offices of the Veterans Administration, local
offices of the State employment services affiliated with the United States Employment Service, and
other agencies engaged in vocational counseling of veterans, young people, and others interested in
choosing a field of work. This study was financed largely by the Veterans Administration, and the
report was originally published as Veterans Administration Pamphlet 7-4.12 for use in vocational
rehabilitation and education activities.
The study was conducted under the supervision of Caiman R. Winegarden; this report was prepared
by Sol Swerdloff and Mr. Winegarden, with the assistance of Vincent H. Arkell. The Bureau wishes to
acknowledge the generous assistance and cooperation received in connection with the study from officials
of other government agencies and of trade organizations, labor unions, and individual companies in the
petroleum industry.
E w an C lag ue,

Hon.

II

M a u r ic e




J.

T o b in ,

Secretary oj Labor.

Commissioner.

CONTENTS

Employment outlook in petroleum production and refining:
The petroleum industry and its products______________________________________________________________
Petroleum production___________________________________________________________________________
Exploration________________________________________________________________________________
Drilling, rig building, and other oil field servicing______________________________________________
Crude petroleum production_________________________________________________________________
Petroleum refining______________________________________________________________________________
General employment outlook______________________________________________
The demand for petroleum products______________________________________________________________
The supply of petroleum_________________________________________________________________________
Job prospects___________________________________________________________________________________
Petroleum production_______________________________________________________________________
Petroleum refining__________________________________________________________________________
Occupations in petroleum production_________________________________________________________________
Duties, training, and qualifications_______________________________________________________________
Working conditions_________________________
Earnings___________________________________________
Occupations in petroleum refining____________________________________________________________________
Duties, training, and qualifications_______________________________________________________________
Working conditions______________________________________________________________________________
Earnings_______________________________________________________________________________________
State and regional employment outlook:
West South Central (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas)___________________________________________
Pacific Coast (California, Oregon, Washington)______1_________________________________________________
Middle Atlantic (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania)_______________________________ _______________
East North Central (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin)_______________________________________
West North Central (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota)_______
Mountain (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming)--------------------------East South Central (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee)_______________________________________
South Atlantic (Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Virginia, West Virginia)___________________________________________________________________________
New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont)_____________
Petroleum jobs abroad_______________________________________________________________________________
Appendixes:
I—Major oil fields in the United States______________________________________________________________
II—Petroleum refineries in the United States: January 1, 1949__________________________________________
No.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.

Page

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35
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38
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40
42

CHARTS

The Southwest and California have most of the oil field jobs____________________________________________
Texas leads in drilling activity, 1949__________________________________________________________________
The oil fields of the United States_____________________________________________________________________
Some principal uses of petroleum products_______________________________ i -----------------------------------------Nearly all the refinery workers are in fourteen States___________________________________________________
Trend of U. S. petroleum consumption is sharply upward----------------------------------------------------------------------Petroleum rises in importance as a source of the Nation’s energy_________________________________________
The number of oil-using units is growing_______________________________________________________________
Recent trends in consumption of petroleum products-------------------------------------------------------------------Production and reserves show long-run growth_________________________________
Oil field employment has been growing-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wildcat drilling has increased greatly since the war-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Total drilling activity in two decades__________________________________________________________________
Refinery employment has nearly doubled in the last decade-------------------------------------------------------Petroleum refining capacity and output----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Drilling is the most hazardous branch of the petroleum industry------------------------------------------------------------Earnings are high in the petroleum industry___________________________________________________________
West South Central is the leading petroleum region-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Recent growth of the petroleum industry in the West South Central region----------------------------------------------




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25
III

E M P L O Y M E N T O U T L O O K IN P E T R O LE U M
P R O D U C T IO N A N D R E FIN IN G

The petroleum industry is of paramount im­
portance in our economy. Its products provide
a third of the energy used in our industrial civi­
lization. From this industry comes the gasoline
used by the millions of cars and trucks and great
fleets of military and civilian aircraft; the fuel oil
that heats several million homes and powers thou­
sands of ships and locomotives; the lubricants
without which no modern machinery could be
operated; the asphalt covering on our highways;
and hundreds of other products ranging from
insecticides to plastic materials.

Petroleum production and refining, the basic
branches of the industry and the ones covered in
this report, employed over 400,000 wage and sal­
ary workers in early 1950, in a wide range of jobs
in many different parts of the country. Earnings
are relatively high and many of the jobs require
considerable skill. It is expected that there will
be many openings for new workers during the next
5 to 10 years. For these reasons, information on
the employment outlook in the industry is of
interest to persons considering the choice of a
vocation.

The Petroleum Industry and Its Products

Petroleum is a world-wide industry in which
scores of nations participate. The United States,
however, leads the world in petroleum production
and consumption. At the beginning of 1948, this
country had 90 percent of the world’s oil wells and,
in 1948, produced nearly three-fifths of the oil.
The United States refined and consumed over
60 percent of all petroleum produced in 1948; its
per capita consumption was 28 times the average
for the rest of the world. Nearly a third of the
world’s proved oil reserves were in the United
States. If foreign holdings of American com­
panies are added, our reserves constituted nearly
three-fifths of the total. (“Proved reserves”
means the estimated amount of oil which has been
discovered, still remains underground, and is re­
coverable by present methods of petroleum pro­
duction.)
Crude oil is the raw material of the petroleum
industry. The origin of oil is not fully under­
stood. The most probable explanation, however,
is that it was formed by the slow distillation of
plant and animal life. The shallow waters of
primeval oceans and lakes were filled with various
organisms which, as they died, dropped to the bot­



tom and were buried under sand and clay deposits.
Over millions of years, the sand and clay were
formed into thick layers of rock. Under the re­
sulting pressure and higher temperatures, the
plant and animal material underwent chemical
change, eventually becoming oil or gas. In the
course of geologic change, the rock layers were
tilted, folded, or broken up, creating underground
collecting places, or “traps,” for the oil and gas.
This is what formed the “pools” of oil. The func­
tion of the petroleum industry is to find these un­
derground pools, to bring the oil to the surface, to
turn the crude petroleum into useful products, and
to distribute and market these products.
To provide the huge quantities of petroleum
products needed in our economy (by the end of
1949, 39 billion barrels of petroleum had been pro­
duced in the United States since the oil industry
was started in 1859) a large and complex industry
with many specialized branches has been devel­
oped. Most of the thousands of companies in the
oil business are engaged in a single specialized as­
pect, such as exploring, drilling wells, producing
or transporting oil, operating refineries, or oper­
ating filling stations. The bulk of the oil business,
1

however, is done by a limited number of large firms
engaged in all branches, from production through
marketing. These “integrated” firms provide
a large share of the jobs in the industry.
Production, refining, transportation, and mar­
keting constitute the main branches of the petro­
leum industry. This report deals exclusively with

production and refining. It does not cover trans­
portation or marketing. Production of natural
gas, often carried on in conjunction with petro­
leum production, is not included in the report.
However, some workers, such as drilling crews, are
employed in both petroleum and natural gas oper­
ations.

Petroleum Production

In the fall of 1949, w7ell over 200,000 wage and
salary workers were employed in petroleum pro­
duction. There were about 13,000 separate com­
panies engaged in various oil field activities. Em­
ployment is concentrated in certain States,
although occurring to some extent in a number of
other States. As chart 1 indicates, Texas is far
and away the leading State in the number of oil
field jobs, followed by Oklahoma, California,
Louisiana, Kansas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and
Wyoming, in that order. An additional 10 States

2




each provided 1,000 or more jobs in 1948.
Petroleum production includes three broad
kinds of work: exploration, drilling and other oil
field servicing, and crude production (well oper­
ation and maintenance).
Exploration

Since oil is difficult to find—only rarely are
there surface indications of its presence under­
ground—a sizable business has grown up in the ap­
plication of scientific methods to the search for

oil. This work is done mostly by the exploration
departments of major oil companies; a number of
independent firms are also engaged in exploration,
and work under contract for companies or indi­
viduals seeking oil.
The various exploration methods can neither
show the precise location of oil nor indicate with
certainty whether or not petroleum is present at
a particular place. They can only locate geologic
formations “favorable” to oil accumulation. The
old adage, “oil is where you find it,” still holds,
and the way to find it is to drill a hole in the
ground down to the oil level.

D rilling, Rig Building, and Other O il Field Servicing

More than 39,000 wells were drilled in the United
States in 1949. Oil producing companies do some
drilling, but most is done by independent firms
working under contract. Of the wells drilled in
1949, 19 percent were “wildcats”, that is, they
were drilled in places where oil had not previously
been found. The remainder were “development”
wells, drilled in connection with the development
and extension of existing fields. Chart 2 shows
the geographical distribution of drilling activity
in 1949. Texas was by far the most important

Chart 2

TEXAS
NUMBER

OF W E L L S

LEAD S

IN

DRILLING

ACTIVITY/ 1949

D R IL L E D

FOOTAGE

THOUSANDS

I4

I2

IO

8

6

D R IL L E D

MILLIONS

4

2

0

0

IO

20

30

40

50

60

70

Texas
Oklahoma
Kansas
Illinois
California
Louisiana
Pennsylvania
Indiana
Ohio
Kentucky
Michigan
New York
Wyoming
West Virginia
New Mexico
M ississippi
Arkansas
Montana

U N ITE D STATES DE P A R TM E N T OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR S T A T IS T IC S




Source:

O IL AN D GAS J O U R N A L

3

Chart 3

THE

O IL

FIELDS

OF

THE

State, both in number of wells and total footage
drilled. Wells were drilled in 25 other States, but
mainly in Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois, California,
Louisiana, and Pennsylvania.
Before a well can be drilled, a derrick must be
built on the spot where the drilling is to be done
(unless a portable rig is used) and the drilling rig
put in place. A number of independent contract­
ing companies specialize in rig and derrick build­
ing, repairing, and dismantling.
In addition to rig building and drilling, a num­
ber of other necessary services are performed in
connection with oil production. These services
include hauling supplies, cementing wells, chemi­
cal treatment in cleaning of wells, and other special

UNITED

STATES, 1949

operations. Much of this is handled by inde­
pendent contractors.
Crude Petroleum Production

Once oil is found, the next job is to bring it out
of the ground. More than half of the oil field
workers are engaged in operating and maintain­
ing the Nation’s 445,000 producing wells. Thou­
sands of companies operate oil wells, and range in
size from some of the largest concerns in the
world to small firms with only a single well. There
are over 4,000 oil fields in the United States, but
130 major fields (listed in Appendix I) accounted
for half of the Nation’s output in 1948. Location
of oil fields is outlined in chart 3.
Refining

Crude oil—petroleum as it comes from the
ground—has very few uses. The process of turn­
ing crude oil into hundreds of useful products is
4



known as refining. Chart 4 illustrates the main
uses of refined products. There were about 375
refineries in the United States, employing about

General view of a refinery.

889849°—i



5

200,000 wage and salary workers at the beginning
of 1950.1 Refineries range in size from small
plants, with less than 50 employees, to the rela­
tively few large ones, each having several thou­
sand workers on its payroll. The 16 largest
refineries accounted for over a third of total ca­
pacity in 1948.
Geographic distribution of refinery employment
in 1948 is shown in chart 5. The location of re­
fineries is determined by two factors: proximity to
markets or nearness to the supply of crude pe­
troleum, i. e., near oil fields, at the terminals of oil
pipelines, or on deep water ports where tankers
can dock. Refineries, therefore, tend to be con­
centrated in the great oil-producing or oil­
consuming areas. Texas led in refinery jobs (with
a fourth of the United States total) followed by
California and Pennsylvania. Eleven other
States, of which Indiana, Louisiana, and New Jer­
sey, were the most important, each accounted for
1 percent or more of the Nation’s refinery
employment.
1 This figure includes employment in central administrative
offices of integrated oil companies, even when these offices are
located away from refineries.

General Employment Outlook

Many factors affect the long-range outlook for
employment in the petroleum industry. Some of
them are reasonably predictable, such as the gen­
erally rising trend in demand for petroleum prod­
ucts. Others are fundamentally uncertain. No
one can say, for example, exactly how much oil re­
mains underground, where it is, or how long it will
be before it is discovered. Another imponder­
able, in the long run, is the rate at which alternate
sources of energy may be developed. (How
rapidly may atomic energy be adapted to peace­

time uses?) The future is uncertain in another
respect. The petroleum industry is world-wide
and its products are not only essential in the
normal operation of our industrial society but
also have critical military importance. Unpre­
dictable military and diplomatic factors, therefore,
may greatly affect the outlook. Nevertheless,
observable trends can be used in evaluating future
job opportunities, subject to the qualifications
which we have noted.

The Demand for Petroleum Products

The long-range trend in demand for petroleum
products has been sharply upward. Chart 6 shows
the steeply rising demand for these products in
the United States. Total domestic consumption
in 1949 was nearly six times the 1919 level. It is
also apparent from the chart that per capita con­
sumption has nearly kept pace with the growth in
6



total consumption, indicating that population
growth, although a factor in the rising demand,
has been less important than the intensified use of
petroleum in our economy.
There has been a great rise in the relative im­
portance of petroleum as a source of energy.
This is illustrated in chart 7, which shows the

Chart 5

N EARLY A U . THE REFINERY W ORKERS
ARE IN FOURTEEN STATES

L e s s than l %

1% - 4 . 9 %
5 % - 9.9 %
10 % ~ 19 . 9 %

O ver 2 0 %

sources of fuel energy in the United States over
the last five decades. At the turn of the century,
crude oil accounted for only about 5 percent of
energy produced; by 1948, the percentage had
risen to nearly 35.
Many factors have contributed to the growth
of the petroleum industry. Probably the most
important single element has been the rapid in­
crease in the number of motor vehicles. In 1900,
for example, about 4,000 automobiles were regis­
tered in the United States; in 1949, the total was
more than 43 million cars and trucks. Residual
fuel oil has become important as a source of energy
for industrial heating and power generation, as
well as for fueling ships and locomotives. Sev­
eral million homes and other buildings are heated
by distillate oils, and thousands of Diesel units use
petroleum fuels. About three million petroleumoperated tractors are in use on the Nation’s farms.



UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

Thousands of airplanes consume growing quan­
tities of aviation gasoline. Large amounts of
asphalt are used in road construction and main­
tenance. In recent years, there has been a rapid
rise in the importance of liquefied petroleum
gases as fuel for homes and industry. The de­
velopment of petro-chemistry has created a multi­
tude of new uses for petroleum. It is now an in­
gredient in many cosmetic, insecticides, medicines,
paints, and plastics. Chart 8 shows the trend in
the number of certain types of major petroleum­
consuming units.
The rise in demand for petroleum products has
been exceedingly sharp in recent years. Domestic
consumption in 1948 was about 74 percent above
the 1939 level. During the war, demand reached
unprecedented heights; vast quantities of petro­
leum products (especially aviation gasoline) were
required by the Armed Forces and by war indus7

Chart 6

TREND OF U.S. PETROLEUM CONSUMPTION
IS SHARPLY UPWARD

1919

1925

1930

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OP LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

1935

1940

1945

1950

kinds of petroleum products differently. The big­
gest increases are likely in gasoline, distillate fuel,
and liquefied petroleum gas. Demand for kero­
sene will increase to a lesser extent. Little rise
in requirements for lubricants is likely. A slight
decline in the demand for residual fuel oil is pos­
sible. Kecent trends in domestic demand for
petroleum products are shown in chart 9.
The effects of several of the general factors in
the demand for petroleum are difficult to gage.
One of these is the price of petroleum relative
to that of other fuels—principally coal and natu­
ral gas. Changes in this relationship cannot be
anticipated precisely. It can be safely said, how­
ever, that small changes in the relative prices are
unlikely to affect demand significantly in most
major uses. It is necessary also to consider pos­
sible technological developments that may make
oil-consuming units more efficient, e. g., the high
compression automotive engine. Improved meth­
ods of using other fuels, such as coal, may also
affect demand for petroleum over the long run.
In general, these developments are unlikely to
have any marked effect on petroleum requirements

SO U RC E: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES;
U.S. BUREAU OF CENSUS
Chart 7

tries. Following the war, a further sharp in­
crease in demand occurred. This unexpected de­
velopment placed great strain on petroleum
refining and transportation facilities, so that in
1946 and 1947 there were local temporary short­
ages of fuel oil and gasoline (particularly the
former). In 1948 and 1949, however, petroleum
supplies were ample.
What will be the future trend in demand ? All
indications point to a continued and fairly rapid
rise during the next 5 or 10 years. Most of the
factors responsible for past growth will continue
to operate—rising number of motor vehicles,
growth of aviation, increased use of oil in heating,
wider application of the Diesel engine, greater
use of petroleum byproducts and, finally, a con­
tinued growth of United States population and
industry. On the other hand, exports of petroleum
may continue the recent decline, partly because in­
creased refinery capacity in Europe, which utilizes
crude petroleum from the Middle East, has
reduced demand for United States oil.
The expected rise in demand will affect various
8




PETROLEUM RISES IN IMPORTANCE AS A

1899

1910

1920

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

1930

1940

SOURCE

1950

S o u r c t •. U .S . DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF MINES

during the next decade. Finally account should
be taken of the possible impact of the development
of atomic energy. At the present time, it seems
THE

1935 '36

NUMBER OF OIL - USING UNITS IS GROW ING

'37 '38 '39 '40 '41 '42 '43 *44 '45 '46 '47

1948

T H O U SAN D S

4,000

most unlikely that atomic energy will compete
seriously with oil as a fuel in any important field
of consumption for a good many years.

1 9 3 3 '3 4 '35 '36 '37 *38 '39 '40 ’41 '42 '43 '44 '45 '46 *471948
NUMBER

r~

12,000

TRACTO RS

D IE S E L

L O C O M O T IV E

U N IT S

3,000

8,000
2,000

-

4,000

1934 '35

'36 '37 '38 '39 ‘4 0 ’41 '42 '43 '44 '45 '46 '47

1948

-

1939

'40

'41

'42

'43

'44

'45

*46

'47

|948

U N IT E O S T A T E S D E P A R T M E N T OF L A B O R
BUR EAU OF L A B O R S T A T I S T I C S

The Supply of Petroleum

Will there be enough oil to meet the expected
demand? All indications are that the supply is
adequate for a number of years to come. Chart 10
shows trends in petroleum production and proved
reserves since 1903. The trend in reserves is
clearly upward, and there have been relatively few
years in which reserves were not greater than
those of the preceding year. However, in recent
years reserves have been rising at a diminishing
rate, and the gap between reserves and produc­
tion has been narrowed somewhat. At the end of
1948, estimated proved reserves in the United
States were over 23 billion barrels (crude petro­
leum) . In addition, reserves of natural gas



liquids totaled about 3.5 billion barrels. It is
estimated that another 2 to 5 billion barrels of oil
are recoverable by the application of secondary
recovery techniques in the older fields.2 It should
be noted, however, that proved reserves do not
represent the total supply of oil. As indicated
previously, “proved reserves” refers to the esti­
mated amount of oil which has been discovered,
which remains underground, and which is recov­
erable by present methods of production. If to
the proved reserves were added the oil believed to
2 “Secondary recovery” refers to a variety of methods for in­
creasing the proportion of oil which can be obtained from a par­
ticular pool.
9

be present, but not yet discovered, upwards of
60 billion barrels of “ultimate reserves” remain,
according to one estimate.
Since the petroleum industry is world-wide in
its scope, it is necessary also to take into account
the estimates of oil supply abroad. Crude re­
serves in the Western Hemisphere outside of the
United States are estimated at 11 billion barrels,
most of it in Venezuela. In the Eastern Hemi­
sphere, proved reserves amount to 37 billion bar­
rels, located mainly in the Middle East. Proved
reserves of the entire world were estimated at
70 billion barrels at the beginning of 1948. There­
fore, if the United States has access to the world’s
Sources of petroleum, supply should be adequate
to meet demand for many years. On the other
hand, possible international developments might
force the United States to depend almost entirely
on domestic supplies. Although our domestic
proved reserves have been rising, it has been at a
declining rate and oil is getting harder to find.
We formerly exported more oil than we received
from abroad. In 1948 and 1949, however, this
situation was changed and our imports exceeded
our exports.

Digitized for10
FRASER


Our oil supplies are being stretched by more ef­
fective conservation methods. In the early days
of the oil industry, there was considerable wastage
through the uncontrolled “flush” production of
wells. But in recent years the rate at which oil is
withdrawn from the ground has been controlled
by State action or by voluntary agreements of
petroleum producers, thereby increasing the ulti­
mate amount of oil recoverable from each pool.
Moreover, this control of the rate of output, or
“prorationing”, has prevented temporary over­
production of petroleum and consequent waste.
Considerable attention has been given in recent
years to the possibility of producing large quan­
tities of synthetic petroleum. The main sources
of synthetic petroleum in the United States are
oil-bearing shale, natural gas, and coal. Although
methods have been developed to obtain oil from
each of these three materials, the methods have not
yet become commercially feasible. However, if
an oil scarcity situation approaches or if national
defense considerations require, the synthetic pe­
troleum industry is likely to be developed on a
large scale. Geologists believe that oil-bearing

shale contains billions of barrels of petroleum.
The coal supplies of this country are virtually in­
exhaustible and an almost endless amount of oil
could be forthcoming if large-scale synthesizing
of coal into petroleum were to be undertaken.

In conclusion, it appears that although oil may
eventually become scarce in the United States, its
supply is adequate to permit a high and rising level
of employment in the petroleum industry for a
number of years.

Job Prospects

It is expected that there will be a substantial
number of jobs for new workers in petroleum
production and refining during the next 5 to
10 years.
Petroleum Production

Chart 11 shows the recent trend of employment
in the Nation’s oil fields. In 1949, the employ­
ment level was considerably above prewar. Over
the next 5 to 10 years, the number of jobs is ex­
pected to increase gradually.
Exploration activity in 1948 and 1949 was at
the highest level in history. Chart 12, showing
the number of wildcat wells drilled each year
since 1935, provides a general index of the rate
of exploration. Several factors entered into the




record rate. One was the relatively high price of
crude petroleum, which doubled between 1946 and
1948. Another factor was the strong demand for
petroleum in the last few years. Finally, a back­
log in exploration activity resulted from the
wartime restrictions on exploratory work. Expec­
tations are that the present level of employment
in exploration will be maintained during the next
5 to 10 years, both because of the rising demand
for oil and the growing difficulty in finding new
fields.
Employment in drilling and related activities
also reached a peak in 1948 and 1949. Chart 13
shows the trend in total number of wells drilled
and footage drilled in recent years. Total foot­
age has risen much more sharply than the number
of wells drilled, because it has become necessary
to drill deeper to find oil. The high price of

11

Chart 13

TOTAL DRILLING ACTIVITY IN TWO DECADES
NUMBER OF
WELLS DRILLED
( in thousands)

FOOTAGE D R I L L E D
(in millions)

as laborers, roustabouts, or helpers. In addition,
a large number of openings are anticipated for
petroleum engineers, geologists, geophysicists, sur­
veyors, draftsmen, and other technical workers.
However, during the next few years, competition
may be keen for openings in some of these occupa­
tions owing to the large number of persons com­
pleting training. This competition will be espe­
cially keen for those seeking professional jobs with
only a minimum of preparation such as a bache­
lor’s degree.
Although many uncertainties cloud the employ­
ment outlook beyond the next decade, it is prob­
ably safe to say that those who do obtain jobs in
petroleum production during the next 5 to 10
years will probably continue to hold them over
a much longer period.
Job opportunities vary widely among the dif­
ferent regions of the United States. Information
concerning these regional differences is given in
the second part of this study.
Petroleum Refining

petroleum, the strong demand for petroleum prod­
ucts, and the backlog of drilling built up during
the war years are factors behind these high levels.
Continued demand for petroleum and the trend
toward deeper drilling are expected to keep such
employment at or near the peak levels during the
next 5 to 10 years.
More than 2 billion barrels of crude—an alltime high—were produced in U. S. oil fields in
1948. Because of rising demand, production dur­
ing the next decade will reach an even higher
level. The upward trend in number of producing
wells and fields is expected to continue. This will
mean more jobs in well operation and maintenance.
The gradual rise in employment will create op­
portunities for new workers in petroleum produc­
tion. A much larger number of jobs, however, will
result from replacement needs. In a field of em­
ployment as large as this one, annual replacement
needs are very substantial. The number of work­
ers who die or retire each year may be about 4
thousand, and additional thousands will transfer
into other lines of work.
Various kinds of workers will be needed in oil'
production. Most of the new workers will start
12FRASER
Digitized for


Refinery employment in 1948-49 was the high­
est ever attained in the industry. Much of the
increase has occurred in the last several years, as
Chart 14

REFINERY EMPLOYMENT HAS NEARLY DOUBLED
IN THE LAST DECADE
THOUSANDS

U N IT E D S TATE S D E P A R TM E N T OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR S T A T IS T IC S

WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS
PE TRO LE UM R E F IN IN 6 IN D U S TR Y

chart 14 indicates. However, the long-range trend
has also been upward. Between 1909 and 1939,
refinery employment rose 500 percent; this was
one of the fastest rates of growth shown by any
industry.
Chart 15 illustrates the growth of refining ca­
pacity and activity since 1918. In recent years,
both capacity and output have risen very greatly
and, at the same time, the gap between the two
has been narrowed.
The outlook for the next 5 to 10 years is for
continued advance in refinery output but at a
slower rate than in many past periods. Reasons
for this expected growth have been indicated in

the preceding discussion of the future demand for
petroleum products. To achieve any substantial
increases in output, considerable expansion of re­
fining capacity will be needed. In 1948-49, work
was begun on the construction of new refineries
and additions to existing ones; greater capacity
is planned for the near future. The rise in output
and capacity will markedly increase the number
of refinery jobs.
Even in a general business depression, with out­
put of petroleum products falling far below the
expected levels, refinery employment should not
decline greatly. Such employment is more closely
related to changes in capacity than to variations
in output. A refinery may be operated at widely
varying rates without greatly affecting the total
number of workers needed. A large share of re­
finery employment is in maintenance departments,
which have nearly as much work to do when the
refinery is operating at 70 percent of capacity as
at 90 percent. The number of administrative, tech­
nical, and clerical employees is also fairly stable,
regardless of the rate of production. Finally,
processing jobs involve mainly the tending of types
of equipment which require a relatively fixed
number of workers.
In addition to the many job opportunities re­
sulting from the expected expansion in refining,
replacement needs (resulting from death, retire­
ment, and transfers into other industries) will be
great, Most new plant workers will start as labor­
ers, since the usual practice in refineries is to fill
the more skilled jobs by promoting from within.
There will be many opportunities in technical
jobs, especially for chemists, chemical engineers,
mechanical engineers, and laboratory technicians.
Accountants, bookkeepers, stenographers, typists,
and various kinds of clerical workers will also be
needed.
Refinery employment is expected to grow much
more rapidly in some regions than in others.
These regional trends are discussed in this study
beginning on page 23.

Occupations in Petroleum Production

Petroleum production includes three broad
kinds of work—exploration, drilling, and well op­
eration and maintenance.
889843°—50

-3




Duties, Training, and Qualifications

Exploration has to do with the finding of under­
ground geologic structures likely to contain oil.
13

Two main methods are used—geological and geo­
physical. These methods are often combined in
the search for oil.
The results of a special survey made by a com­
mittee of the American Association of Petroleum
Geologists indicates that at the beginning of 1950
an estimated 10,000 geologists and geophysicists
were working in petroleum exploration and ex­
ploitation in the United States. Of these, ap­
proximately 7,700 were professional geologists and
geophysicists (graduates or with 4 or more years
of college training). The remaining 2,400 were
technicians or subprofessional employees with less
than 4 years of college training.
There are an estimated 6,000 petroleum geolo­
gists in the United States. They are on the stalls
of oil companies, work for independent explora­
tion firms, or operate as independent consultants.
Their main function is to recommend where to
drill for oil. However, they also advise manage­
ment on methods of drilling and oil field develop­
ment, make appraisals of properties for leasing,
and estimate oil reserves. Four or 5 years of col­
lege training in geology are needed to get a job as
a beginning petroleum geologist.
Some geologists are in central or district offices
of oil companies or exploration firms. Most of
Field geologist taking reading with a compass. The main functions of the petroleum geologist is to
recommend where to drill for oil.

14



them, however, spend a great deal of their time
making field surveys. Geological parties, headed
by petroleum geologists, study and map surface
and subsurface geologic structures.
In addition, the parties may include collegetrained paleontologists and chemists. Paleontol­
ogists study fossils—the remains of organic life
in rocks—in order to determine the geologic age
of the rocks. Chemists conduct analyses of rock
samples. Plane-table operators. draftsmen, and
rodmen assist in surveying and mapping opera­
tions.
Another science used in exploration is geophys­
ics—the application of the principles of physics
to the study of the subsurface structure of the
earth.
Seismic prospecting is by far the most exten­
sively used of geophysical exploration methods.
The seismograph (originally devised to record
earthquakes) measures and records the rate of
transmission of sound waves through the earth.
In oil prospecting, a dynamite blast is set off.
sending energy waves down into the earth. As
these waves strike rock formations, they are re­
flected back to sensitive detecting instruments.
The instrument readings are recorded on film and
interpreted by geophysicists, who can thus deter­
mine the nature of underground formations. A
seismograph crew is composed of from 10 to 18
persons, working under the supervision of a party
chief, who is usually a college-trained geophysi­
cist. Computers, who usually have had college
training in geophysics, mathematics, or engineer­
ing, prepare maps from the seismic data. Ob­
servers operate and maintain the seismic equip­
ment ; they generally have a degree in electrical
engineering. Drillers and their helpers operate
portable drilling rigs used to make holes into
which explosive charges are placed. Shooters are
in charge of the placing and detonation of explo­
sive charges.
Gravity prospecting, another method of finding
oil traps, involves use of the gravity meter. This
instrument is an extremely sensitive scale that
measures the vertical pull of gravity with minute
accuracy. Heavy rocks near the surface pull
harder than light ones or than heavy rock at
greater depth. The gravity meter, by detecting
these variations, helps disclose the possible pres-

Rig builders erect and dismantle the giant steel derricks.

ence of oil-bearing structures. Workers em­
ployed in gravity prospecting include operators of
gravity measuring instruments, draftsmen, com­
puters, party chiefs, and surveying crews.
Another method of exploring underground
rock is by electricity. A special electric probe is
lowered into a well. A current is passed through
the rock layers and the rock's resistance to the
current is measured. Different kinds of rock have
varying resistance to electricity. Resistance is
affected also by the oil, gas, or water content of the
rock. An electrical prospecting party usually has
four to eight members including the party chief,
surveyor, operators of electrical measuring instru­
ments, and cablemen.
The land man (or lease man) has essential func­
tions in exploration and oil-field development.
His job is to make the necessary legal and financial
arrangements with the owners of prospective oil
land in which his company is interested.
Another important job in oil exploration is that
of the scout. He keeps his company informed on
all exploration, leasing, drilling, and production
activity in his area.
Drilling. In spite of all the exploration methods
that have been developed, no device will actually



find petroleum. Only by drilling can the presence
of oil be proved. There are two methods of
drilling a well: cable tool drilling and rotary
drilling.
Cable tool drilling was the original method, but
it has been replaced to a great extent by rotary
drilling. At present, the cable tool method is
mainly employed in drilling shallow wells in hard
rock formations. Most of the cable tool drilling
is done in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and
West Virginia. In cable tool drilling, a hole is
pounded through the rocks by raising and
dropping (over and over again) a heavy, sharp­
ened bit attached to the end of a cable.
The usual cable-tool drilling crew consists of
the driller and the tool dresser. The cable-tool
driller is in charge of all operations during his
tour of duty and maintains a detailed record of
drilling activity. One of his main functions is to
control the force with which the bit strikes the bot­
tom of the well. He also supervises and helps
in the setting up of the machinery and derrick.
The cable-tool dresser assists the driller and main­
tains the equipment.
DRILLING IS THE MOST HAZARDOUS
BRANCH OF THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY
Average Number of Disabling Work In ju rie s
Per M illio n Employee-Hours Worked in 1948

15

Almost all the deeper wells are drilled by the
rotary method. Rotary drilling bores a hole into
the ground as a carpenter bores a hole with a
brace and bit into a board. The drilling bit is a
steel tool having a cutting surface at its lower
end. The bit is attached to a string of jointed
hollow pipe held in place by a round table which is
rotated by a steam, Diesel, or gasoline engine. As
the bit goes down, the drill stem is lengthened by
the addition of more pipe. A stream of mud is
continuously pumped through the pipe in order
to cool the drilling bit and to plaster the walls of
the hole to prevent cave-ins.
A typical rotary drilling crew consists of a ro­
tary driller and four or five helpers. To operate
one rig the customary 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week, about 20 workers are required. The rotary
driller is in charge of the work of the crew dur­

ing his tour of duty and operates the drilling ma­
chinery. His duties include controlling drilling
speed and pressure, and keeping a record of opera­
tions. He must be ready to meet a variety of
emergencies, such as breakdown of equipment or
encountering unusual geological formations. His
helpers include a derrickman, a fireman (or engineman), and two or three rotary floormen. The
derrickman is second in charge on the drilling rig.
When pipe is being removed and replaced, the
derrickman handles the upper end of the pipe,
working on a small platform high on the rig ; the
rotary floormen handle the lower end, racking and
unracking pipe sections and connecting and dis­
connecting pipe joints. The derrickman also con­
trols the consistency and circulation of the drilling
mud. The fireman or engineman operates the
engine which provides power for drilling.

Rotary floormen preparing to run drill pipe into the well.

16



\ rotary driller is in charge of the drilling crew. Part of his job is to operate the drilling machinery,
controlling drilling speed and pressure.

Another important oil field worker is the tool
pusher. He supervises the operations of a group
of drilling rigs, and has the responsibility of sup­
plying the drilling crews with needed materials
and equipment. Roustabouts are sometimes em­
ployed in drilling operations to do odd jobs around
the drilling rigs. Among other workers con­
nected with drilling operations are the rig
builders, who erect and dismantle the giant steel
derricks.
Crude oil production. Production begins once
the well is drilled and oil is found. Many dif­
ferent kinds of workers are employed in a pro­
ducing field. Switchers work in fields where oil
flows under natural gas pressure and does not re­
quire pumping. They open and close valves to
regulate the flow of oil from well to tanks, be­
tween tanks, or into pipelines. Pumpers
operate and maintain power units, pumps, com­
pressors, and other equipment used in producing
an artificial flow of oil from the wells. This is the
largest occupation in the oil fields. Generally, a
pumper operates a group of wells. Gagers meas­
ure and record the contents of the field tanks and
take samples of the oil. In many fields, the jobs
of switchers, gagers, and pumpers are combined



in various ways. Treaters test oil from wells for
sediment and water content and use chemical or
electrical equipment to treat oil in the storage
tanks. (This occupation may also be combined
with pumper or gager.) Roustabouts perform
the various duties of field and well maintenance;
these require relatively little skill but often in­
volve heavy, hazardous work.
A number of workers are engaged in various
specialized maintenance operations in the oil fields.
Welders, carpenters, electricians, machinists, and
blacksmiths are employed to repair and install
equipment. IFell-pulling crews use mechanical
winches to remove the pumping rods and steel
casing from wells; this is clone either to clean and
repair pumping equipment or to salvage the casing
when wells are abandoned.
Petroleum Engineers. Over-all planning and
supervision of drilling and production operations
are usually the responsibility of the petroleum en­
gineer. He helps to select drilling sites and di­
rects rig builders and other workers in erection of
the derrick and installation of the drilling machin­
ery. He advises drilling personnel on technical
matters and may supervise the completion of wells.
A yager measuring the contents of storage tanks out in the oil fields.

17

Pumper-switcher opening and closing valves to regulate the flow of oil from the wells.

One of his principal functions is to prevent waste;
he may determine oil flow rates and pumping
methods. The usual requirement for this job is
graduation from a 4-year college course. Some
petroleum engineers are trained in specialized pe­
troleum engineering courses in colleges and uni­
versities. Others have degrees in chemical, min­
ing, or mechanical engineering or nonengineering
degrees in the physical sciences, such as geology.
W orking Conditions

Most oil field work is done outdoors and the
workers are thus exposed to extremes in weather.
Fields may be near cities; however, they are often
far from sizable communities and are sometimes
in swamps or deserts. A few drilling crews actu­
ally work and live on specially constructed plat­
forms miles off-shore in the Gulf of Mexico. Drill­
ing employees may expect to remain in one place
a few years at most; their work in a particular field
may be completed in less than a year. Explora­
tion personnel move around even more frequently.
Well operation and maintenance workers, how­
ever, may stay in the same locality for years.
Drilling employees who wish to settle in one place
sometimes transfer to lower-paying production
jobs.
Accident data indicate that exploration and
crude production are not particularly dangerous;
they have a lower accident frequency rate, for ex­
ample, than the average for manufacturing indus­
18



try generally. Drilling, on the other hand, is
much more hazardous. Chart 16 shows accident
frequency rates in various branches of the indus­
try.
Most oil field workers are not union members.
Some of the fields have been organized, however,
by the Oil Workers International Union (CIO)
and by various independent unions.
Except for scientists, engineers, and other tech­
nical employees, oil field workers generally are
hired as laborers, roustabouts, or helpers, and ad­
vance to more skilled jobs as openings occur. In
rotary drilling, for example, a new crew member
is hired as a fireman or floorman. A ffoorman can
advance to derrickman, and then to driller. It
takes several years to attain the status of driller.
Much drilling and exploratory work requires
men capable of performing heavy physical labor.
Well operation and maintenance, with the excep­
tion of some of the heavy labor done by the roust­
abouts, does not require great physical effort.
Women are employed only in the offices and labora­
tories of oil producing companies.
Most oil field workers are hired at the field or
through the local offices of the various State em­
ployment services affiliated with the United States
Employment Service. Appendix I gives the loca­
tion of the major oil fields.
Earnings

Earnings of oil field workers compare favorably
with those , in industry generally. In January

1950, average weekly earnings of production work­
ers in petroleum and natural gas production (ex­
cluding drilling and rig building) were over $76
for nearly 42 hours of work. Recent earnings
information for individual occupations is not
available. Examination of a number of union
agreements which cover only a small part of oil
field employment indicates the following range of

hourly earnings in important occupations in
1948-49.
Occupation

Typical straight-tim e
hourly earnings

Rotary driller___________________ $2. 25-$2. 85
Derrickman______________________ 1. 75- 2. 00
Rotary doorman_________________ 1. 00- 1. 85
Fireman_________________________ 1. 60- 1. 85
Pumper, switcher, and gager--------- 1. GO- 1. 90
Roustabout______________________ 1.40-1.80

Occupations in Petroleum Refi ning

Petroleum refining is the processing of crude
petroleum into usable end products, such as gaso­
line, kerosene, fuel oil, and lubricants. This proc­
essing is done in plants called refineries. The
equipment looks very much like chemical labora­
tory apparatus built on a gigantic scale.
Crude oil is a mixture of hydrocarbon com­
pounds which boil at different temperatures. The

basic process of refining is distillation, which con­
sists of breaking down or “fractionating” the
crude. This is done by controlled heating, during
which the compounds are first vaporized and then
condensed, forming the various products, gasoline,
kerosene, etc.
In many refineries large “cracking” units are
employed to obtain more gasoline per barrel of

Stillmen and their helpers control the operation of the refinery units. They observe and record instrument readings showing temperature, pressure, and oil flow.




19

crude. As its name implies, cracking breaks down,
or rearranges, the molecules of heavy oils into
lighter hydrocarbons. Cracking is accomplished
in these units through the application of either
great heat and pressure or somewhat less heat
plus the action of a catalyst.
Duties, Train in g, and Qualifications

About a third of the plant workers in a modern
refinery are engaged in processing. The proc­
essing operations are highly mechanized and are
controlled by a large number of instruments, so
that relatively little manual work is required.
Stillmen (operators) have the responsibility of
running the various distillation and cracking units
safely and economically. In order to control the
operation of the equipment, they observe and re­
cord instrument readings showing the tempera­
ture, pressure, and oil flow. A Stillman has two
or more assistants (stillmen’s helpers). Stillmen
also supervise firemen who operate the burners
which maintain required temperatures in the re­
fining units. Pumpmen and their helpers mainMaintenance workers checking refinery equipment. Periodically every unit in a refinery is checked
cleaned, and repaired.

tain and operate power-driven pumps which cir­
culate petroleum products, chemicals, and water
through units during processing. Impurities
present in gasoline, oil, and other products are
removed in purification units run by treaters.
More than half of the plant workers in a typical
refinery are employed in the repairing, rebuilding,
and cleaning of operating equipment. Included
among these are skilled boilermakers, bricklayers,
carpenters, electricians, instrument repairmen,
leadbumers, machinists, painters, pipefitters, pipe
coverers, riggers, sheet metal workers, and weld­
ers. There are also many helpers and trainees in
these trades.
In addition to process and maintenance jobs, a
number of workers are employed in the packaging
and shipping departments.
Petroleum refining employees include a rela­
tively large proportion of professional and
technical workers. Among these are chemists,
chemical engineers, mechanical engineers, labora­
tory technicians, and draftsmen.
Chemists control the quality of petroleum prod­
ucts by conducting tests and analyses to determine
their chemical and physical properties. Many
chemists are engaged in the development of new
products.
Engineers are employed in a variety of refinery
activities, including design of chemical equip­
ment, supervision and development of processes,
plant lay-out, and quality control. Some labora­
tory technicians assist the chemists in research
projects; others do routine testing. Draftsmen
prepare working plans and detailed drawings
required in refinery construction and maintenance.
W orking Conditions

Working conditions in refineries compare favor­
ably with those in manufacturing industry gener­
ally. Most refinery jobs do not require great
physical effort. Some workers, however, climb
stairs and ladders to considerable heights in the
course of their duties. Others work in hot places
or are exposed to unpleasant odors. Refineries
are relatively safe places in which to work; acci­
dent frequency is barely half the average for
manufacturing as a whole. Because refineries
operate 21 hours a day, 7 days a week, many of
the process workers are on night shifts and many
20




work on week ends. Plant jobs in refineries are
filled by men; there are jobs for women in the
laboratories and offices. There is little seasonal
variation in refinery employment; nearly all the
workers have year-round jobs.
The majority of refinery workers are union
members. A large number of petroleum refineries
have been organized by the Oil Workers Interna­
tional Union (CIO) ; many refinery workers are
in various independent unions. Some are members
of AFL craft unions.
Persons interested in getting refinery jobs should
apply directly to a refinery or to the local office
of their State Employment Service. The name
and location of the refineries in each area appear
in Appendix II.
Except for the office help and technical workers,
the usual way to start in a refinery is as a laborer.
When a vacancy occurs, the worker is assigned to
one of the processing or maintenance departments.
Here, the more skilled work is learned on the job,
with advancement by strict seniority. For ex­
ample, in a processing department, a worker may
advance along these lines: laborer, fireman, assis­
tant stillman, stillman. In maintenance depart­
ments, a worker advances from laborer to helper
or learner. He trains, over a period of 3 or 4 years,
to become skilled in such work as boilermaking,
pipefitting, or welding. Some refineries have
formal apprenticeship programs to train workers
for skilled maintenance occupations.
Earnings

Earnings in petroleum refining are among the
highest in industry. In January 1950, produc­
tion workers in petroleum refining earned, on the
average, $77.68 for a workweek of 40.8 hours. (In
the same month, the average for all manufacturing
industries was $56.29 for 39.7 hours of work.)
The following tabulation gives straight-time aver­
age hourly earnings for selected occupations in
refineries in September 1948.1

889849°—50-

4




Occupation

Average straight-tim e
hourly earnings

Assistant stillman, cracking_____________ $1. 95
Assistant stillman, straight-run_________ 1. 91
Assistant stillman, combination units____ 1. 97
Carpenter, maintenance------------------------ 1. 98
Electrician, maintenance_______________ 2. 01
Fireman, stills, cracking_________ ______ 1. 84
Fireman, stills, straight-run_____________ 1. 76
Fireman, stills, combination units_______ 1. 87
Gager_________________________________ 1. 87
Helper, maintenance___________________ 1. 67
Instrument repairman__________________ 2. 01
Laborer_______________________________ 1. 42
Loader, tank cars or trucks_____________ 1. 70
Machinist, maintenance___________ _____ 2. 01
Packer, hand__________________________ 1. 66
Pipefitter______________________________ 1. 98
Pumpman_____________________________ 1. 92
Pumpman’s helper-------------------------------- 1. 83
Routine tester, laboratory--------------------- 1. 77
Stillman, cracking_____________________ 2.15
Stillman, straight-run__________________ 2. 07
Stillman, combination units_____________ 2.18
Treater, light oils______________________ 1. 96
Treater, heavy oils_____________________ 1. 97
Treater’s helper, light oils______________ 1. 89
Treater’s helper, heavy oils-------------------- 1. 86
Welder, hand, maintenance_____________ 2. 02
Mechanic, maintenance_________________ 1. 92

There have been some wage increases in petro­
leum refineries since September 1948; average
earnings of production workers in petroleum re­
fining rose from about $1.87 an hour in Septem­
ber 1948 to about $1.90 in January 1950.
Employees generally receive additional pay for
working the second or third shifts. Most petro­
leum refinery workers are granted vacations with
pay after 1 year’s service. Many firms also make
provision for paid sick leave. A large number of
the companies have adopted some type of insur­
ance or pension arrangements for their employees;
some provide life insurance plans, others have
health insurance programs or retirement and pen­
sion plans. Employee stock-purchase plans are
in effect in many firms.
1 Data are for refineries with 51 or more employees. Earnings
exclude premium* pay for overtime and night work.

21

S T A T E A N D R E G IO N A L E M P L O Y M E N T O U T L O O K

22



W est South Central
(ARKANSAS, LOUISIANA, OKLAHOMA, TEXAS)

Sum m ary

Opportunities for large numbers of new work­
ers in the region’s oil fields and refineries are in
prospect; Texas will continue to have most of the
jobs.
Background

C rude P etroleum P roductio n .—This

is “the oil
country,” the principal petroleum region in the
United States. Crude production in 1949 of over
1.1 billion barrels was about three-fifths of the
Nation’s output. All four West South Central
States are among the first 10 States in crude pro­
duction. These States together have nearly 70
percent of the estimated United States proved
reserves. In 1948, about 140,000 oil field workers,
60 percent of the United States total, had jobs in
this region (see chart 18).
Texas is the main producing area in the world.
In 1948, Texas petroleum producers and oil field
contractors employed about 85,000 workers. Dur­
ing 1949, the 117,000 wells in the State yielded
about 750 million barrels of crude, over 40 percent
of United States output. About three-fifths of
this oil was processed by Texas refineries and the
remainder was supplied to refineries in 17 other
States, principally Pennsylvania, Indiana, New
Jersey, Louisiana, and Illinois. Petroleum pro­
duction is the State’s leading industry (measured
in value of product). More than a third of the
State’s area—about 58 million acres—was under
lease to petroleum producers in 1947. There are
more than 1,000 fields in the State, but 60 percent
of the crude in 1948 came from 51 major fields
(listed in Appendix I).
There are six main oil producing areas in this
State—eastern, west Texas, Gulf Coast, north
Texas, Panhandle, and southwest. The eastern
district contains the fabulous East Texas field
which has been considered the world’s most pro­
ductive oil reservoir. In its 18-year producing
history, this field has yielded about a fifth of all
the oil taken out of the ground in Texas and nearly
7 percent of the total United States production.
West Texas, which in 1948 was the leading pro­
ducing area in the State, produced more oil than



any State other than Texas, with the exception
of California. The Gulf Coast area produced
only slightly less than west Texas. The other
three regions, the southwest, north Texas, and the
Panhandle accounted for less than a quarter of
the State’s output.
Oklahoma ranks second in crude petroleum em­
ployment. About 35,000 oil field workers, 17 per­
cent of the Nation’s total, had jobs in this State
in 1948. Oklahoma’s 54,000 wells produced over
150 million barrels of crude in 1949, nearly a
twelfth of the Nation’s output. Oklahoma has
more than 900 oil fields, but nearly two-fifths of
the State’s output in 1948 came from 18 of them.
The fields lie in a wide belt extending from the
northeast corner of the State to the Texas State
line. Fifty-seven of the State’s 77 counties have
oil or gas wells.
In 1948, over 20,000 oil field workers were em­
ployed in Louisiana the third ranking petroleum
producing State. In 1949, Louisiana’s output of
over 190 million barrels amounted to 10 percent
of the United States total. Average production
per well in Louisiana is the highest among the
leading petroleum States; in 1948, it was over 4
times the national average. This is one of the rea­
sons why fewer workers are needed to produce a
given amount of oil in Louisiana than in most
other States. There are two main oil areas in the
State—one in the north and the other along the
Gulf Coast. The latter accounts for most of the
output.
Most of the oil lands in Arkansas are in the
southwest part of the State. In 1948, Arkansas
ranked tenth in employment and provided jobs
for about 2,800 workers. The State’s two major
fields—Magnolia and Smackover—together ac­
counted for about a quarter of the output of
nearly 30 million barrels in 1949.
R e f in in g .—In 1948, nearly 70,0001 persons were
employed in the 119 refineries operating in the
region. These refineries had over 40 percent of
the United States total refining capacity at the
1 This figure is inflated by inclusion of central office employees
of oil companies.
23

Outlook

Char* 18

Percent of
U.S. Total

WEST SOUTH CENTRAL
IS THE LEADING PETROLEUM REGION

U.S. Total

Percent o(
U.S. Total

U.S.Total

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

beginning of 1949. Three-fifths of the region’s
refinery workers had jobs in Texas, which is the
Nation’s leading refinery State.
Petroleum refining, Texas' largest manufactur­
ing industry, had about 41,000 wage and salary
workers in 1948. While only 27 of the 71 operating
refineries were in the Gulf Coast area, these re­
fineries had over four-fifths of the State’s total
capacity. The principal refinery centers in Texas,
and among the most important in the Nation, are
in the Beaumont-Port Arthur, Houston-Texas
City, and Corpus Christi areas.
Louisiana's 15 refineries employed about 15,000
workers in 1948. More than 95 percent of the
State’s facilities are located along the Gulf Coast.
Two refineries, one in Baton Rouge and the other
in Lake Charles, have about three-quarters of the
refining capacity.
Oklahoma ranks eighth in refining capacity.
About 11,000 wage and salary workers had jobs
in 24 refineries in 1948. The largest refineries
are in Tulsa and Ponca City. The 6 refineries in
Arkansas provided jobs for somewhat over 2,000
workers.
24



C rude P etroleum P roductio n .—The region’s oil
fields will provide many jobs for new workers
during the next 5 to 10 years. Rising demand for
petroleum products in the United States will mean
stepped-up production in this region, which in
1949 supplied about three-fifths of the Nation’s
crude. These four States have 70 percent of the
United States proved reserves. It appears likely
that they will continue to provide for the great
bulk of our crude petroleum needs. During the
last decade, output rose 90 percent in Texas and
Louisiana, and is expected to continue to rise over
the long run. In spite of greatly increased pro­
duction, the proved reserves of these States have
continued to grow. During the last 10 years, esti­
mated proved reserves in Texas were increased by
about 3 billion barrels and more than doubled in
Louisiana. Moreover, a new oil frontier, the con­
tinental shelf on the Gulf Coast of Texas and
Louisiana may very well become an important
source of petroleum.
Oklahoma’s oil production in 1948 was below
the output in 1938. However, during the last 5
years, the downward trend of the previous decade
was reversed and production is again on the up­
grade. Crude production in Arkansas has been
increasing slowly during the last 10 years.
Drilling activity is expected to continue at very
high levels during the next several years. In
1949. an all time high in drilling activity was re­
corded : More than 13,000 wells were drilled in
Texas, 4,300 in Oklahoma, and 2,400 in Louisiana.
At year’s end about 1,600 drilling rigs were op­
erating in this region. To operate one rig the
customary 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, about
20 workers are required. Exploration for oil in
this region was on the greatest scale ever known.
A record total of nearly 4,000 wildcat wells were
drilled in the West South Central States in 1949.
Expanded employment should provide a sub­
stantial number of openings for new workers.
Many more job opportunities will result from the
need to replace the several thousand workers who
leave the oil fields each year because of shifting to
other lines of work and because of death or
retirement.
R e f in in g .—Refinery employment is expected to
increase substantially above its present level.

refining facilities, replacement needs will also pro­
vide a number of job opportunities.
Earnings

September 1948 average straight-time hourly
earnings of petroleum refinery workers in selected
occupations in the West South Central States are
shown in the following tabulation.
Occupation

Both refining capacity and employment have
grown rapidly during the last decade. Crude
runs to stills in 1948 were nearly 65 percent above
the 1939 level (see chart 19). Refining capacity
in the region is expected to increase greatly to meet
the growing national demand for petroleum prod­
ucts. Construction of a considerable amount of
new capacity was begun in 1948-49. Major ex­
pansion programs were started in Corpus Christi,
Port Arthur, and Baytown, Tex.; Baton Rouge
and Lake Charles, La.; and West Tulsa, Okla.
In addition to the workers needed to man new




Average straight-tim e
hourly earnings

Assistant still men, cracking______________ $1. 99
Assistant stillmen, straight-run__________ 1. 89
Assistant stillmen, combination units_____ 1. 97
Carpenters, maintenance___ ____________ 2. 05
Electricians, maintenance_______________ 2. 08
Firemen, stills, cracking________________ 1. 87
Firemen, stills, straight-run_____________ 1. 81
Firemen, stills, combination units______ 1. 84
Gagers________________________________ 1. 88
Helpers, maintenance__________________ 1. 67
Instrument repairmen___________________ 2.06
Laborers_______________________________ 1.38
Loaders, tank cars or trucks____________ 1. 65
Machinists, maintenance________________ 2. 08
Mechanics, maintenance________________ 1. 95
Packers, hand_________________________ 1. 69
Pipe fitters____________________________ 2. 06
Pumpmen-------------------------------------------- 1. 88
Pumpmen’s helpers_____________________ 1. 80
Routine testers, laboratory______________ 1. 82
Stillmen, cracking________________ _____ 2.14
Stillmen, straight-run__________________ 2. 05
Stillmen, combination units_____________ 2.12
Treaters, light oils__ __________________ 1. 92
Treaters, heavy oils____________________ 2. 08
Treaters’ helpers, light oils______________ 1. 89
Treaters’ helpers, heavy oils____________ 1. 85
Welders, hand, maintenance______________ 2.05

Recent wage information on petroleum produc­
tion for this region is not available. For earnings
data for the country as a whole see page 19.

25

Pacific Coast
(CALIFORNIA, OREGON, WASHINGTON)

Sum m ary

Oil fields and refineries in California, the Na­
tion’s second most important petroleum State, will
provide a growing number of jobs during the next
5 to 10 years.
Background

C rude P etroleum P roductio n .— The

petroleum
industry of the Pacific Coast is located almost en­
tirely in California. Although for a number of
years prospecting crews have been searching for
oil in Washington and Oregon, as yet there has
been no commercial production in these two States.
California's oil fields employed about 26,000
workers in 1948, a ninth of the Nation’s total.
Since oil was first discovered in California in 1867,
this State has produced about 8 billion barrels
of crude, over a fifth of all the oil taken out of the
ground in the United States. Today, California
is second only to Texas as a producing State and
its output in 1949 of 335 million barrels was
more than 18 percent of the Nation’s total. At
the end of 1949, there were about 25,000 producing
wells in the State’s approximately 170 oil fields,
with 29 major fields (listed in Appendix I) ac­
counting for the bulk of the output. Fewer work­
ers are needed to produce a given amount of oil in
California than in the country as a whole. For
one thing, oil sands in California are much thicker
than in most parts of the country; average out­
put per well in this State is 3 times the national
average.
Producing fields in California are located in
three general areas. The largest producing area
is in the San Joaquin Valley, in Kern, Fresno,
and Kings Counties. The second largest section
is the Los Angeles Basin in the southwest part of
the State, principally in Los Angeles and Orange
Counties. The third section is the so-called
coastal area extending between Ventura in the
south and Santa Maria in the north. The oil
fields here are primarily in southern Ventura and
western Santa Barbara Counties. In the latter
26



two sections, oil production methods are somewhat
different from those in the rest of the State since
some of the oil deposits are under water, just oft'
the ocean shores. These pools are reached either
by drilling diagonally out from the shoreline or
by locating the drilling rigs on piers built out in
the water. Neither central nor northern Cali­
fornia has large fields.
R e f in in g .— In 1948, there were 51 refineries op­
erating in the Pacific coast region, all but three of
them in California. California is the Nation’s
second ranking refining State both in capacity and

Drilling a test hole away from shore. Off-shore oil fields may become an important source of
petroleum.

employment. Its 48 operating refineries provided
jobs for about 28,000 wage1 and salary workers.
Operating at full capacity, these refineries could
process about one million barrels a day, more than
a sixth of the United States total. Because of
California’s large crude production and because
of its geographic isolation from other oil areas,
1 This figure has been inflated considerably by inclusion of
central office employees of oil companies.

its refineries are supplied almost entirely by crude
produced witliin the State.
Most refining facilities are located near the cen­
ters of population and industry around Los An­
geles and San Francisco. In the Los Angeles area,
large refineries are located near the coast in the
vicinity of Long Beach, Wilmington, El Segundo,
Torrance, and in Los Angeles itself. In the San
Francisco Bay region, there are major refineries in
Richmond, Avon, Martinez, and Oleum. Consid­
erable refining is done also in the Bakersfield area
in the lower San Joaquin Valley, near the produc­
ing fields.
There are three refineries in the region outside
of California. The two refineries in Oregon, pro­
ducing mainly asphalt, are located in Portland and
Willbridge. The one refinery in Washing ton is
in Spokane.
Outlook

Prospects for the next 5 to 10 years are for ris­
ing employment in both petroleum production and
refining in California. Crude output in 1948 and
1949 in California was the highest in the State’s
80-year producing history; production of around
840 million barrels in each of these years was
about 50 percent above 1941. Even higher output
from the California oil fields will be needed to meet
the growing demand for crude by the State’s
refineries.
Exploration and drilling activities during
1948-49 were at the highest rate in California’s
history. The 2,500 wells drilled during 1949 rep­
resented total footage of over 10 million feet.
Proved reserves at the end of 1948 were estimated
at about three and three-quarter billion barrels,
nearly a half billion higher than the year before.
Exploration and drilling are expected to continue
at a very high rate. Most of this activity will
probably continue to be centered in the three prin­
cipal producing sections (San Joaquin Valley, Los
Angeles Basin, and the Coastal area). However,
considerable activity is expected in the Cuyama
and Salinas Valleys and beneath the Tidelands off
the coast of Santa Barbara County.
The long run upward trend of demand for
petroleum products on the West Coast should re­
sult in increased output in California’s refineries.



Because of the State's geographical isolation and
because of the high cost of transporting petroleum
products overland, the market for these refineries
is limited to the three Coastal States and, to a
lesser extent, Arizona and Nevada, plus some over­
seas exports. Similarly, a very small amount of
petroleum products comes into the State from
other areas. The demand for petroleum in Cali­
fornia differs somewhat from that of other regions.
California crudes are, in general, heavier and of
a somewhat lower gasoline content than those of
other areas, producing a high yield of residual
fuel oil when refined. (In November 1949, for
example, the residual yield was 39.1 percent of re­
fined products in California, compared with 21.8
percent for the Nation as a whole.) The high
yield of heavy residual oil goes well with the un­
usually high demand for this product in the re­
gion. Since California is without commercial
production of coal, it relies on fuel oil (together
with water power and natural gas) to supply the
heat and power necessary for industry. Western
railroads operate to a large extent on residual oil.
California industry depends heavily on this oil
for the uses to which coal is put in other parts of
the country. Fuel oil is also used to a consider­
able extent for electric power generation and is
employed increasingly for space heating. In
addition, ships docking in West Coast ports re­
quire large quantities of residual fuel oil.
Several factors contribute to the expectation of
long-range expansion of demand for petroleum
products on the Pacific Coast. One is the grow­
ing industrialization of the region as evidenced
by the continual addition of new industrial facil­
ities. Other factors include the rapidly grow­
ing population and the increasing number of
motor vehicles in use. Offsetting these somewhat
is a trend toward substituting Diesels for residual
oil-burning locomotives, which tends to reduce
total oil consumption of the railroads.
Stepped-up activity in the petroleum industry
in California should result in rising employment
in both the oil fields and refineries. Additional
opportunities for new workers will result from
the need to replace persons leaving the oil fields
and refineries because of death or retirement or
because of shifting to other lines of work.
27

Earnings

September 1948 average straight-time hourly
earnings of petroleum refinery workers in selected
occupations in the Pacific Coast States are shown
in the following tabulation:
Occupation

Average straight-tim e
hourly-earnings

Assistant stillmen, cracking___________ $1. 89
Assistant stillmen, straight-run__________ 1.88
Assistant stillmen, combination units___ 1. 93
Carpenters, maintenance_________________ 1.92
Electricians, maintenance_______________ 1.93
Firemen, stills, cracking_________________ 1.80
Firemen, stills, straight-run______________ 1.78
Gagers________________________________ 1. 83
Helpers, maintenance----------------------------- 1.65
Instrument repairmen----------------------------- 1.92
Laborers_______________________________ 1.53

Occupation — Con.

Averag e-straight-tim e
hourly earnings

Loaders, tank cars or trucks____________ $1. 73
Machinists, maintenance____________ ____ 1. 93
Mechanics, maintenance________________ 1. 90
Packers, hand_____________________ - ___ 1. 59
Pipe fitters____________________________ 1.92
Pumpmen_____________________________ 1. 87
Pumpmen’s helpers________________ ____ 1. 70
Routine testers, laboratory_____________ 1. 80
Stillmen, cracking_______ ______________ 2.13
Stillmen, straight-run__________________ 2. 08
Treaters, light oils_____________ _______ 1. 96
Treaters, heavy oils____________________ 1. 85
Treaters’ helpers, light oils_____________ 1. 82
Treaters’ helpers, heavy oils____________ 1. 79
Welders, hand, maintenance____________ 1. 93

Recent wage information on petroleum produc­
tion for this region is not available. For earn­
ings data for the country as a whole see page 19.

Middle Atlantic
(NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, PENNSYLVANIA)

Sum m ary

Outlook is for a growing number of refinery
jobs; oil field employment should remain stable
for several years but may later begin to decline.
Background

C htjde P etroleum P roductio n .— This is the oldest
producing region in the United States. About a
fourth of the Nation’s 445,000 producing wells are
here, but less than 1 percent of the crude comes
from these 3 States. The region produces, how­
ever, a large proportion of the crude from which
high grade lubricating oil is made. In 1948, more
than 10,000 workers were employed in the region’s
011 fields; about four-fifths of them had jobs in
Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania has been producing oil since 1859,
when Col. E. A. Drake drilled the world’s first oil
well near Titusville, in Vennango County. In
1948, more than 8,000 workers were employed in
the oil fields. Although there are about 80,000
producing wells in the State (about a fifth of the
Nation’s total), crude production in 1948 ac­
counted for only 0.6 percent of the country’s out­
put. Production per well in this State averaged
about one-half barrel a day compared with about
12 barrels a day for the country as a whole. As
can be seen from the map, the oil and gas produc28



ing area of Pennsylvania lies in a belt from 25
to 120 miles wide and nearly 200 miles long, ex­
tending across the western side of the State. The
Bradford field, located in the northwestern part
of the State, has been the most productive field
in the entire Appalachian region. In 1947, it
accounted for more than four-fifths of the total
oil produced in Pennsylvania.
New York oil fields are located primarily in
three counties in the southwestern part of the
State (Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Steuben), all
of which border on Pennsylvania. In 1948, about
2,000 workers were employed in the oil fields. Al­
though there are about 22,000 operating wells in
the State, 1949 output of 4,250,000 barrels was less
than one-fourth of 1 percent of total crude pro­
duced in the United States. While the amount
produced is comparatively small, New York’s
crude petroleum is important in the manufactur­
ing of lubricating oil and commands a relatively
high price. A large proportion of the wells
drilled in New York oil fields in 1949 were in con­
nection with secondary-recovery operations.
R e f in in g .—In 1948, about 40,000 workers,1 over
a fifth of the Nation’s total, were employed in the
1 This figure is considerably inflated by inclusion of central
office employees of oil companies.

30 refineries located in these three States. These
refineries depend to a large extent on shipments
from other regions and from foreign countries for
their crude petroleum. More than half of the
crude comes from Texas; foreign imports make up
most of the balance. This region receives about
four-fifths of total United States imports of crude
petroleum.
Pennsylvania is the Nation’s third leading State
in refining capacity and number of employees.
Four large refineries in eastern Pennsylvania (2 in
the Philadelphia area and 2 in Marcus Hook) have
nearly seven-eighths of the refining capacity. The
other 13 refineries are small; nearly all of them
are located in the petroleum-producing area in the
western part of the State. Pennsylvania gets 90
percent of the crude needed for its refinery opera­
tions from foreign or interstate sources. More
than half of the crude is brought in from Texas;
over a quarter comes from foreign countries,
mainly Venezuela.
New Jersey is the only major refining State
which has no producing wells. Most of the crude
petroleum refined in this State comes from Texas;
much of the remainder is brought in by tankers
from abroad. Two large refineries, in the Bayonne
area, have about three-fourths of the capacity of
the State’s 6 refineries. The other 4 refineries
are located in Paulsboro, Perth Amboy, Linden,
and Petty’s Island.
Two of New York’s 6 refineries are located in
the New York City area, 2 around Buffalo, and
the others in Glean and Wellsville (in the oil-pro­
ducing area). Crude production in New York
supplies only a small proportion of its own refining
needs. The bulk of the crude comes from Texas,
Oklahoma, Illinois, and from foreign sources.
Outlook

C rude O il P roductio n .—Little change in the
number of oil field jobs in the region is expected
for the next several years. Looking further into
the future, the outlook in this branch of petroleum
is for gradually decreasing employment.
While the region’s crude production has fallen
somewhat in recent years, the number of produc­
ing oil wells and the number of workers have not
changed materially. No new pools of any great
significance have been discovered during the last
10 years. However, wells drilled in connection



with secondary recovery operations have kept
drilling activity at a fairly steady level. While it
is possible that new oil pools will be discovered in
this area, future production will be determined by
the amount of oil remaining in existing fields.
Estimated proved reserves in the region have been
decreasing steadily. On January 1,1947, the esti­
mated reserve in Pennsylvania was only about a
third of the amount estimated 10 years previously.
While there is a considerable area remaining to
be developed by secondary-recovery methods, these
methods have already been applied to many of
the best oil pools. Oil field employment is ex­
pected to remain around its 1948 level, about
10,000 workers, during the next few years. Over
the longer run however, prospects are for slowly
declining employment.
If at any time, however, there should be any
great reduction in the price of crude from its
1948-49 levels, a sharp drop in the number of jobs
may occur. A substantial price reduction might
cause a considerable decrease in secondary-recov­
ery activity and might also lead to the closing
down of many of the less productive wells in the
region.
R e f in in g .—Rising employment in petroleum re­
fining in this region is expected during the next
few years and over the longer run. The region’s
petroleum-refining industry has expanded consid­
erably in recent years. In order to satisfy war­
time demands, new capacity was rushed into
construction. Much new equipment was added to
existing refineries in order to produce large quan­
tities of aviation gasoline. Since the war, the
industry has continued to expand because of the
rapidly rising demand for petroleum products.
More workers will be needed to man the new re­
fining facilities placed under construction in
1948-49 in the Philadelphia and New York City
areas.
Longer run refinery prospects are also favorable
in this region. Refineries in New Jersey and east­
ern Pennsylvania have had the advantage of major
markets close at hand—in the big concentrations
of industry and population around New York,
Philadelphia, and Boston. This marketing fac­
tor, plus the growing importance of foreign crude
oil in refinery operations, is expected to result in
a more rapid growth in the East than in the other
29

important refining areas. Another important
consideration is the comparatively recent develop­
ment of catalytic cracking, which is likely to be
used in place of thermal cracking units in new
refineries and in expansion of existing refineries.
Catalytic cracking eliminates to a great extent the
advantage of having refineries located in areas
(such as Texas) where there is an abundance of
the inexpensive natural gas used as a fuel in ther­
mal cracking operations.
S y n t h e t ic P etroleum .— The United States Bu­
reau of Mines and several oil companies are work­
ing together to perfect processes for manufactur­
ing synthetic petroleum fuels. Natural gas, oil
shale, and coal are the three raw materials from
which liquid fuels can be made. In this region,
there are laboratories and pilot plants in Bruceton and Library (Pennsylvania), engaged in re­
search and development of synthetic liquid fuels
from coal. If a commercial synthetic industry
using coal as a raw material is developed, it prob­
ably will be located in this region because of the
great coal concentration in Pennsylvania.

occupations in the Middle Atlantic States are
shown in the following tabulation.

Earnings

Recent wage information on petroleum produc­
tion for this region is not available. For earn­
ings data for the country as a whole see page 19.

September 1948 average straight-time hourly
earnings of petroleum refinery workers in selected

Occupation

Typical straight-tim e
hourly earnings

Assistant stillmen, cracking_____________ $1. 96
Assistant stillmen, straight-run_________ 1. 86
Assistant stillmen, combination units____ 1. 99
Carpenters, maintenance_______________ 2. 08
Electricians, maintenance______________ 1. 98
Firemen, stills, cracking______
1. 81
Firemen, stills, straight-run____________ 1. 70
Gagers________________________________ 1. 85
Helpers, maintenance__________________ 1. 62
Instrument repairmen__________________ 1. 95
Laborers______________________________ 1. 43
Loaders, tank cars or trucks___________ 1. 57
Machinists, maintenance_______________ 1. 99
Packers, hand_________________________ 1. 56
Pipe fitters____________________________ 1. 94
Pumpmen_____________________________ 1. 87
Pumpmen’s helpers____________________ 1. 78
Routine testers, laboratory_____________ 1. 66
Stillmen, cracking_____________________ 2. 24
Stillmen, straight-run__________________ 2. 03
Treaters, light oils_____________________ 1. 87
Treaters, heavy oils____________________ 1. 81
Treaters’ helpers, light oils_________
1. 80
Treaters’ helpers, heavy oils____________ 1. 80
Welders, hand maintenance_____________ 2. 05

East North Central
(ILLINOIS, INDIANA, MICHIGAN, OHIO, WISCONSIN)

Sum m ary

Refinery employment is expected to rise; the
number of oil field jobs is likely to remain fairly
stable.
Background

C rude P etroleum P roduction .—In 1948, the re­
gion’s oil fields had about 17,000 workers, almost
8 percent of the Nation’s total. The 60,000 oil
wells in the East North Central States produced
about 94 million barrels of crude during 1949, ap­
proximately 5 percent of the United States output.
Three-fifths of the region's oil field workers have
jobs in Illinois. Most of the others are employed
in Ohio and Michigan.
As can be seen from the map (chart 3), the oil
30



fields in Illinois are in the southern part of the
State. While Illinois has 280 oil fields, about a
quarter of the crude produced in 1948 came from
its four major fields—Louden field in Effingham
and Fayette Counties, Salem field in Marion
County, Bridgeport in Lawrence County, and
Robinson in Crawford County. Illinois, the Na­
tion’s sixth ranking State in petroleum produc­
tion, employed about 10,000 oil-field workers in
1948. The 30,000 wells in the State produced 65
million barrels of crude in 1949, slightly over 3
percent of the Nation’s output.
More than 3,500 workers had jobs in Ohio’s oil
fields in 1948. Petroleum production in Ohio is
concentrated in 2 separate areas; 1 in the north­
west and the other in the southeast. During 1949,

the State’s 22,000 wells yielded only a fraction of
All but 1 of Michigan's 17 refineries are small;
1 percent of the Nation’s crude. Average output the exception is the refinery located in Trenton.
per well wTas less than a half barrel a day, com­ IF isconsin's only refinery, a small one, is in She­
pared with about 12 barrels for the country as a boygan.
whole.
In Michigan, about 2,000 workers had jobs in Outlook
approximately 125 fields. Thirty-eight of the 83 C rude P etroleum P roductio n .— Production in
counties have some oil or gas wells. The 3,800 the East North Central States reached a high in
wells in Indianans 64 fields produced about 9y2 1940 of 175 million barrels (13 percent of the Na­
million barrels in 1949. Most of the oil lands are tion’s total) and 6 times what it had been 3 years
in the southwestern part of the State. Although before. Since then production has decreased each
a number of wells have been drilled in Wisconsin, year and by 1949 had fallen to about half the 1940
total. This sharp rise and fall in production was
no oil has been discovered.
due to the discovery in 1938-1940 of a group of
R e f in in g .— 1The region has nearly a sixth of the
fields in Illinois. Wells in these fields were
Nation’s refining capacity. Fifty-three refineries new
allowed to flow freely, without application of us­
provided jobs for about 30,000 workers in 1948. ual
methods and, consequently, are
Much of the capacity is located near the centers of nowconservation
producing
at
a lower and declining rate.
industry and population around Chicago and St.
While
production
has
been falling, the number of
Louis. Indiana and Illinois together employ
about three-fourths of the region’s refinery wells in Illinois has been slowly increasing dur­
ing the last several years. There has been con­
workers.
In 1948, more than 13,000 persons worked in siderable exploration and drilling activity in the
Indiana?s 9 refineries. Five of these refineries East North Central States since the war, and this
(including one of the Nation’s largest) located activity is expected to continue at its present high
just over the State line from Chicago, have about level during the next several years.
Not much change in employment is in prospect
94 percent of the State’s refining capacity. Texas
and Oklahoma fields supply most of the crude used in the region’s crude petroleum industry during
the next 5 or 10 years. Replacement needs, how­
by Indiana refineries.
The 15 operating refineries in Illinois had total ever, will provide a small number of job oppor­
capacity of more than 340,000 barrels daily in tunities each year.
1948 and employed nearly 10,000 workers. The 3 R e f in in g .— Rising employment is expected in the
largest refineries, 2 in Wood River (not far from refining industry. There has been a rapid growth
St. Louis) and the other in Lockport (near Chi­ during the last decade in refining capacity and
cago) together have about three-fifths of the employment. Crude runs to stills in 1948 were
State’s capacity. Other large refineries are lo­ nearly double the 1938 level. Capacity is ex­
cated in Lamont, Lawrenceville, Hartford, East pected to increase, particularly near Chicago and
St. Louis, and Robinson. In 1948, Illinois oil St. Louis in order to supply the growing demand
fields supplied only about a fifth of the crude for petroleum products in these areas. A con­
refined in the State; the rest came from Texas, siderable amount of new refining capacity was
Oklahoma, and Kansas.
under construction in 1948-49 which will probably
Four of the 11 refineries in Ohio are in Toledo. increase employment. In addition, replacement
Large plants are also located in Cleveland, Cleves, needs will provide a number of job opportunities
Lima, and Heath. Petroleum refining provided for new workers.
jobs for over 5,500 Ohio workers in 1948. The
State’s fields supply only a small portion of the Earnings
needs of its refineries. Most of the crude is
September 1948 average straight-time hourly
brought in from Illinois, Texas, and Oklahoma. earnings of petroleum refinery workers in selected



31

occupations in the East North Central States are
shown in the following tabulation:
Occupation

Average straight-tim e
hourly earnings

Assistant stillmen, cracking--------------------$1. OS
Assistant stillmen, straight-run__________ 2.00
Assistant stillmen, combination units----- 1. 99
Carpenters, maintenance-------------------1.95
Electricians, maintenance________________ 2.01
Firemen, stills, cracking___________ —---- 1. 86
Firemen, stills, straight-run_____________ 1.76
Firemen, stills, combination units------------ 1.90
Gagers_________________________________ 1-91
Helpers, maintenance___________________ 1.72
Instrument repairmen___________________ 2.02
Laborers_______________________________ 1.51
Loaders, tank cars or trucks___________ - 1. 80
Machinists, maintenance-------------------------- 2.00

Occupation — Con.

Average straight-tim e
hourly earnings

Mechanics, maintenance_________________ $1. 91
Packers, hand_________________________ 1. 83
Pipe titters_______
1. 98
Pumpmen_____________________________ 2. 08
Pumpmen’s helpers__________
1. 92
Routine testers, laboratory_____________ 1. 80
Stillmen, cracking________________ _____ 2.16
Stillmen, straight-run__________________ 2. 09
Stillmen, combination units_____________ 2. 22
Treaters, light oils___________________ __1. 98
Treaters, heavy oils_____________ ______ 2. 21
Treaters’ helpers, light oils_____________ 1. 94
Welders, hand, maintenance____________ 2. 05

Recent wage information on petroleum produc­
tion for this region is not available. For earn­
ings data for the country as a whole see page 19.

W est North Central
(IOWA, KANSAS, MINNESOTA, MISSOURI, NEBRASKA, NORTH DAKOTA, SOUTH DAKOTA)

Sum m ary

Slowly rising employment in the oil fields and
refineries of Kansas is in prospect. There is a
long-run possibility of new oil field jobs in the
Dakotas and Minnesota.
Background

C rude P etroleum P roduction .—In 1948, there
were about 12,000 oil field workers, slightly more
than 5 percent of the Nation’s total, in the West
North Central States. Kansas, the Nation’s fifth
ranking petroleum producing State, has the great
bulk of the jobs. Oil fields in Kansas are in 2
districts, 1 in the eastern and southern part of
the S ta te and the other in the west central section.
However, 67 of the State’s 105 counties have one
or more oil or gas wells. In 1949, the 29.000 oper­
ating wells in Kansas produced about 102 million
barrels of crude, amounting to 5.5 percent of the
United States output, with about half the oil going
to refineries within the State.
Oil production in Nebraska is limited to the
four fields in Richardson County (in the extreme
southeast corner of the State). In 1949, Nebraska
produced only 311,000 barrels of crude. There is
also some small-scale oil production in Missouri.
R e f in in g .—The 26 refineries operating in this
region in 1948 employed nearly 7,000 workers,
32




under 4 percent of the United States total. Kan­
sas, which has about four-fifths of the region’s
jobs, is the Nation’s tenth ranking State in re­
fining capacity. In January 1949, the 16 Kansas
refineries had a total capacity of about 186,000
barrels a day. The State’s three largest refineries
are located in Kansas City, El Dorado, and Augus­
ta. Missouri’s only refinery is in Sugar Creek
and has a capacity of about 37,000 barrel a day.
There are three very small refineries in Nebraska
and one in South Dakota.
Outlook

C rude P etroleum P roduction .—Slowly increas­
ing employment is in prospect in Kansas oil fields.
In addition, replacement needs will provide sev­
eral hundred job opportunities annually. In
1948-49, crude output in Kansas was at the highest
level in the State’s 60-year producing history.
Although Kansas has been producing oil since
1889, output did not become large until 1917,
when important discoveries were made in Butler,
Marion, and Chase Counties. In 1918, Kansas
provided an eighth of the Nation’s output. The
trend in production was gradually upward unr l
World War II, when output began to rise shard,
reaching a peak in 1948 of 110 million bar ‘
nearly double the output in 1938. During 19_'<
ploration and drilling activity was at a very h

rate ; nearly 3,400 wells were completed, of which
522 were wildcats. Exploration and drilling ac­
tivity is expected to rise somewhat above its pres­
ent high rate during the next several years.
Elsewhere in the region, the outlook for oil-field
employment is problematical. Greatly steppedup exploration activity is expected in the Dakotas
and Nebraska. If large deposits of petroleum are
found, a number of oil-field workers will be
needed.
R e f in in g .—A small increase in refinery employ­
ment is likely during the next several years. Some
new facilities were under construction in 1948-49.
Replacement needs also will provide a small num­
ber of openings each year.
Earnings

September 1948 average straight-time hourly
earnings of petroleum refinery workers in selected
occupations in the West North Central States are
shown in the following tabulation:

Occupation

Average straight-tim e
hourly earnings

Assistant stillmen, cracking_____________ $1.83
Carpenters, maintenance_______________ 1. 88
Electricians, maintenance_______________ 1. 93
Firemen, stills, cracking________________ 1. 70
Firemen, stills, straight-run_____________ 1. 78
Gagers________________________________ 1. 74
Helpers, maintenance__________________ 1. 69
Instrument repairmen__________________ 1. 97
Laborers______________________________ 1. 43
Loaders, tank cars or trucks___________ 1. 66
Machinists, maintenance________________ 1. 95
Pipe fitters____________________________ 1. 90
Pumpmen__ __________________________ 1. 89
Pumpmen’s helpers_____________________ 1. 73
Routine testers, laboratory______________ 1. 67
Stillmen, cracking_______________ _____ 2. 02
Treaters, light oils_____________________ 1. 86
Treaters' helpers, light oils______________ 1. 72
Welders, hand, maintenance____________ 1. 95

Recent wage information on petroleum produc­
tion for this region is not available. For earnings
data for the country as a whole see page 19.

Mountain
(ARIZONA, COLORADO, IDAHO, MONTANA, NEVADA, NEW MEXICO, UTAH, WYOMING)

Sum m ary

A rue in employment in both petroleum pro­
duction and refining is in prospect, with the larger
increase occurring in production employment.
Background

C rude P etroleum P roductio n .—This is one of the

fastest growing producing regions. However, out­
put in 1949 was only about 7 percent of the Nation’s
total. In 1948, about 13,000 workers were em­
ployed by the region’s petroleum producers and
oil-field contractors. Over 5,000 of the jobs were
in Wyoming and nearly that many were in New
Mexico. Colorado and Montana had most of the
other oil field jobs.
New Mexico has two producing areas. One is
in fhe eastern section in Lea and Eddy Counties.
The other is in the northwestern corner of the
-tate, in San Juan and McKinley Counties. In
h , New Mexico’s 76 fields, with their 5,600 wells,
, vduced 48 million barrels of crude.—2.6 percent
y Nation’s total.
:Vyoming was the eighth ranking producing




State in 1949. Its 4,900 wells yielded 47 million
barrels during the year. The fields in Wyoming
are scattered throughout the State, with some oil
or gas wells in 19 of the 23 counties. The princi­
pal fields are in Natrona, Park, Fremont, Big
Horn, Sweetwater, Niobrara, Carbon, and Hot
Springs Counties.
The 750 oil wells in Colorado produced about
24 million barrels of crude in 1949. These wells
had a daily average of 85 barrels, compared with
a national average of about 12 barrels. Oil and
gas is produced in 12 of the 63 counties. As can be
seen from the map (chart 3), most of the producing
area is in the northern part of the State, with some
fields in the southwest.
Eighteen of Montands 56 counties have oil or
gas wells. The two principal fields are the Cut
Bank field in Glacier County and Kavin-Sunburst
field in Toole County. Together they accounted
for more than half of Montana’s output of over 9
million barrels of crude in 1948.
R e f in in g .— Over 5,000 workers were employed in
refining in the Mountain States in 1948. Nearly
33

all the 42 operating refineries in this region are
small; their combined capacity is less than 3 per­
cent of the United States total.
Over half of the region’s refinery workers have
jobs in Wyoming’s IT operating refineries. These
refineries are scattered throughout the State. The
larger refineries are located in Casper, Sinclair,
and Cheyenne. Two refineries in Salt Lake City
have nearly all of Utah’s refining capacity. There
are 7 refineries operating in Montana, with total
capacity of 40,000 barrels per day. The three
largest refineries, which have tliree-fourths of the
State’s capacity, are located in Billings, Laurel,
and Sunburst. There are 6 refineries in Colorado,
7 in New Mexico, and 1 in Idaho, all of them
small.
O utlook

C rude P etroleum P roduction .—Outlook is for
rising employment during the next 5 or 10 years.
A derrickman working on a small platform high on a rotary drilling rig handles the upper end of the pipe
when it is being removed and replaced.

Output of crude petroleum in the Mountain States
has more than doubled during the last 10 years.
The output of the Mountain region’s 4 producing
States reached record levels during 1948 and 1949.
While this region, even in 1949, accounted for less
than 4 percent of all the wells drilled in the United
States, increasing interest in this area as a possible
location of important new discoveries has led to a
relatively big rise in drilling activity during the
last 2 or 3 years. The amount of proved reserves
is also on the upgrade in this region. At the end
of 1948, the Mountain States accounted for about
7.5 percent of the United States total proved
reserves.
In addition to the openings which will result
from increasing employment, there will be some
job opportunities created in the replacement of
those who leave the oil fields.
A long-range possibility is the extensive devel­
opment of the vast oil shale deposits in this region.
Several pilot plants for conversion of oil shale
into petroleum products are being operated in the
Mountain States. If oil shale eventually becomes
a major source of petroleum, much of the activity
may be centered in this region.
R e f in in g .—Increasing employment in the refin­
ing industry is in prospect. However, this region
will continue to have only a small share of the
Nation’s refinery workers. The rapid growth in
refinery employment which has taken place dur­
ing the last several years is expected to continue.
New facilities were under construction in order
to handle the increased production of nearby oil
fields. New refineries in Salt Lake City, Utah,
and Billings, Mont., were under construction in
early 1949. Additions to existing facilities were
being made in Thermopolis and Casper, Wyo., and
in Denver, Colo. In addition to new jobs that will
result from rising employment, there will be a
small number of openings each year because of
replacement needs.
Earnings

September 1948 average straight-time hourly
earnings of petroleum refinery workers in selected
occupations in the Mountain States are shown in
the following tabulation.
34



Occupation

Average straight-tim e
hourly earnings

Assistant stillinen, straight-run__________ $1. 94
Carpenters, maintenance__ - ___________ 1. 77
Electricians, maintenance______________ 1. 94
Firemen, stills, cracking__________
1. 75
Firemen, stills, combination units_______ 1. 90
Helpers, maintenance__________________ 1. 69
Instrument repairmen_________________ 1. 92
Laborers______________________________ 1. 48
Loaders, tank cars or trucks____________ 1. 78
Mechanics, maintenance________________ 1. 99
Pipe fitters____________________________ 1. 97

Occupation — Con.

Average straight-tim e
hourly earnings

Pumpmen_____________________________ $1. 96
Pumpmen’s helpers____________________ 1. 79
Routine testers, laboratory_____________ 1. 75
Stillinen, cracking_____________________ 2.10
Stillinen, straight-run__________________ 2.15
Stillinen, combination units____________ 2.15
Treaters, light oils_____________________ 2. 00
Welders, hand, maintenance____________ 1. 93

Recent wage information on petroleum produc­
tion for this region is not available. For earnings
data for the country as a whole see page 19.

East South Central
(ALABAMA, KENTUCKY, MISSISSIPPI, TENNESSEE)

wells, its output per well is about 6 times the United
States average. The 22 producing fields in Mis­
sissippi are spread over 17 counties, located prin­
cipally in the southern part of the State. During
the last few years, however, prospecting crews
have been hunting for oil throughout the State,
Background
C rude P etroleum P roduction .— Nearly 6,000 and wildcat wells have been drilled in 78 of the 82
workers were employed in 1948 in the East South counties. The Tinsley field (in Yazoo County)
Central States in the search for oil, in drilling, and in its 10-year history has produced more than
in the operation and maintenance of the region’s three-fifths of all the oil taken out of the ground
16,000 producing oil wells. The 47 million bar­ in Mississippi.
The 2 small oil fields in Alabama are located in
rels of crude produced in this region in 1949 con­
Choctaw
County. The Gilbert field, discovered in
stituted 2.5 percent of total United States output.
1944,
and
the East Gilbert field, discovered in
Nearly all the oil field jobs are in Kentucky and
1945,
together
have 38 wells. Tennessee's oil fields
Mississippi.
Kentucky's nearly 15,000 wells produced about are confined to 5 counties in the northern part
8% million barrels of crude in 1949, less than of the State. In early 1948, there were 34 pro­
one-half of 1 percent of the United States total. ducing wells in the 6 small oil fields of this State.
Output per well in Kentucky is only about 1.6 R e f in in g .—This is not one of the important pe­
barrels a day compared to the national average troleum refining regions. The 12 refineries in the
of about 12 barrels. The 51 fields in Kentucky 4 East South Central States employed fewer than
are located in 44 of the 120 counties, in the west, 1,500 workers in 1948, less than 1 percent of the
the south central, and the eastern part of the United States total. Kentucky’s 6 refineries have
State. Two-thirds of Kentucky’s crude comes most of the jobs. The 2 largest refineries in Ken­
from the western part of the State; the combined tucky are located in Catlettsburg and Latonia; 3
output of Henderson and Union Counties consti­ refineries are in Louisville, and 1 in Somerset.
tutes over half of the State’s production.
About half of Kentucky’s crude is delivered to
Almost half of the region’s oil field workers refineries within the State. The rest of the crude
have jobs in Mississippi, the Nation’s ninth rank­ needed for the State’s refinery operations is sup­
ing State in petroleum production. While this plied by fields in Indiana, Mississippi, Louisiana,
State has only 1 out of every 300 of the Nation’s and Illinois. There are 2 small refineries in each
Sum m ary

Outlook is for rising employment in the oil fields
of Mississippi. No increase in refinery employ­
ment is in prospect in the region.




35

of the other 3 East South Central States. These
are located in Mobile and Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Sandersville and Yazoo City, Miss.; and Memphis
and Nashville, Tenn.
Outlook

C rude P etroleum P roduction .— Employment

in
the region's crude petroleum industry is on the
upgrade, but the East South Central States will
continue to have only a small portion of the Na­
tion’s oil field workers. In Mississippi, crude

production is of recent origin; while oil was first
discovered in 1933, production through 1938 was
negligible. Except for some curtailment during
the war, output has risen rapidly during the last
10 years. From 100,000 barrels in 1939, Missis­
sippi’s output climbed to 46 million barrels in
1948. Prospects are that this expansion will
continue.
For Kentucky, on the other hand, slowly de­
creasing production is forecast. This State has
been producing oil since 1860, reaching a peak in

Engineers checking flow chart in the control room of a catalytic cracking unit of a refinery.

36



1919 when its 9 million-plus barrels were about
percent of the United States total. Ken­
tucky’s production showed continuous decline be­
tween the two world wars. The downward trend
was reversed during the recent war years when
a sharp increase in activity in Kentucky fields
occurred. Production rose from 5 million barrels
in 1941 to a new high of 10 million in 1945. Since
the war, however, output has fallen off somewhat
and is likely to continue to decline. While some
21/2

increase in activity in Alabama’s oil industry is
probable, neither that State nor Tennessee is likely
to be a larger employer of oil field workers in
the foreseeable future.
R e f in in g .—Job prospects in the region’s petro­
leum refineries are not bright. No expansion in
refining capacity in the East South Central States
is in sight. Moreover, replacement needs will pro­
vide very few job openings annually because of
the small size of the industry in this region.

South Atlantic
(DELAWARE, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, FLORIDA, GEORGIA, MARYLAND, NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA,
VIRGINIA, WEST VIRGINIA)

Sum m ary

Little increase is expected in employment in
petroleum production and refining. West Vir­
ginia will continue to have most of the oil field
jobs and Maryland most of the refining jobs.
Background

C rude O il P roductio n .—In

1948, about 3,600
workers, less than 2 percent of the Nation’s total,
were employed in crude production in the South
Atlantic States. Except for a small number in
Florida and Virginia, all of the jobs in this region
were in West Virginia. The 17,000 oil wells in
this State produced about 2,800,000 barrels in
1949, making it the nineteenth ranking State,
While total output is relatively small, West Vir­
ginia crude is of high quality, yielding a good
grade of lubricating oil and commanding a com­
paratively high price. West Virginia oil fields
are in the northern and western part of the State.
They lie in a belt about 40 to 70 miles wide, ex­
tending from Pennsylvania to the Kentucky State
line.
Virginia and Florida are the only other South
Atlantic States which have producing wells. Pe­
troleum production in Virginia has been limited
to the small Rose Hill field in Lee County in the
extreme southwestern part of the State. The five
producing oil wells in Florida at the beginning of
1948 were all in the recently developed Sunnyland
field in Collier County.



R e f in in g .—About

3,000 workers were employed
in 1948 in the 10 refineries located in this region;
Baltimore is its only major refining center. The
one large and two smaller refineries in Baltimore,
Md., had a total capacity of 67,000 barrels a day,
more than two-thirds of the region’s total capacity.
Most other refinery workers were employed in the
four small refineries located in the petroleum pro­
ducing area of West Virginia. There are three
other refineries in this region, all of them small
and engaged principally in producing asphalt for
local markets. These refineries are located in
Claymont, Del.; Savannah, Ga.; and Charleston,
S. C.
Outlook

C rude P roductio n .—There will be few openings
for new workers in crude petroleum production in
this region. In West Virginia, where nearly all
of the region’s oil fields are located, petroleum pro­
duction has been decreasing steadily for many
years. In 1900, this was one of the leading pro­
ducing States with an output of 16 million barrels,
representing more than a fourth of the United
States total. By 1920, production had fallen to
half of the 1900 figure; in 1949, the State’s output
of less than 2,800,000 barrels was only a little more
than one-tenth of 1 percent of the Nation’s total.
While there has been an increased amount of ex­
ploration and drilling activity since the war and
some new oil pools have been discovered, no sig­
nificant expansion of the petroleum production
37

industry is in sight. However, possible steppingup of secondary recovery operations may create
some additional jobs. Because of the limited size
of the industry in this region, replacement needs
will provide only a small number of job oppor­
tunities in any one year.
R e f in in g .—Job prospects in petroleum refineries
in the South Atlantic States are not promising.
Employment in the 10 plants in this region is not
expected to increase much above the 1948 level in
the foreseeable future. Although some openings
for new workers will arise from replacement needs,
the number will be limited because of the small
size of the industry in this region and because the
turn-over rate in refining is one of the lowest in
industry.
Earnings

September 1948 average straight-time hourly
earnings of petroleum refinery workers in selected
occupations in the South Atlantic States are shown
in the following tabulation:

Occupation

Average straight-tim e
hourly earnings

Assistant stiIlmen, cracking______________ $2. 05
Assistant stillmen, straight-run_________ 2. 01
Assistant stillmen, combination units____ 2. 02
Carpenters, maintenance________________ 1.93
Electricians, maintenance________________ 2.02
Helpers, maintenance____________________ 1. 58
Instrument repairmen___________________ 2.01
Laborers_______________________________ 1.38
Loaders, tank cars or trucks_____________ 1. 65
Machinists, maintenance________________ 1.98
Mechanics, maintenance_________________ 1.83
Packers, hand__________________________ 1.54
Pipe fitters____________ _______________ 1.96
Pumpmen_____________________________ 1. 96
Pumpmen’s helpers_____________________ 1. 83
Routine testers, laboratory______________ 1. 67
Stillmen, cracking_______________________ 2.33
Stillmen, straight-run___________________ 2.33
Treaters’ helpers, light oils_____________ 1. 89
Welders, hand, maintenance______________ 1.96

Recent wage information on petroleum produc­
tion for this region is not available. For earnings
data for the country as a whole see page 19.

New England
(CONNECTICUT, MAINE, MASSACHUSETTS, NEW HAMPSHIRE, RHODE ISLAND, VERMONT)

There will be very limited opportunities for
employment in the petroleum industry in this
area.

R. I., area are small and produce mainly asphalt
for local use. Most of the crude needed for refin­
ing operations in this region comes from Texas
and Venezuela.

Background

Outlook

Sum m ary

New England produces no crude petroleum and
has barely 1 percent of the Nation’s refining ca­
pacity. In 1948, about 1,000 wage and salary
workers were employed in the 5 refineries located
in this region. Two of the refineries are in Massa­
chusetts—one in East Braintree and one in Ever­
ett. The other three, located in the Providence,

38FRASER
Digitized for


No expansion in the petroleum refining industry
in this region is in sight. Because of the small
size of the industry, replacement needs will pro­
vide only a very few openings for new workers.
Owing to the geological characteristics of New
England, there is little chance that petroleum de­
posits will be found.

Petroleum Jobs Abroad

In addition to the personnel working in the oil
fields and refineries in this country, United States
oil companies employ several thousand Americans
abroad. American companies operating in for­
eign countries accounted, in 1947, for nearly twofifths of all the oil produced outside the United
States. These companies also operate a number
of refineries abroad. Recent data are not avail­
able on the total number of workers employed in
the foreign activities of these American compa­
nies. In 1944, however, 11 American companies
and their subsidiaries employed about 67,000
workers outside of the United States. The great
bulk of these were nationals of the respective
countries, but a high percentage of the technical
and skilled jobs were filled by Americans. Since
1944, employment has risen considerably.
American oil companies are operating in about
20 foreign countries. Most jobs abroad are in the
Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia, and in
South America, principally in Venezuela. In the
last year or two a number of United States oil
companies’ employees have been working in Can­
ada. Most foreign jobs for Americans are for
experienced, skilled production workers and for
professional and technical personnel. These in­
clude keymen in geological and geophysical ex­
ploration parties; petroleum engineers; tool push­
ers, drillers, and derrickmen as the basic members
of drilling crews; pumpers, switchers, pipe fitters,
and welders in the producing fields; and chemical




engineers, chemists, operators (stillmen), and
skilled maintenance workers in the refineries.
Prospects are that the foreign activity of United
States oil companies will increase. However, the
trend is to employ, insofar as possible, nationals
of the countries concerned. Wages paid to AmerShooter lowering charge of dynamite down shot hole. These workers are part of a seismograph pros­
pecting crew.

ican oil workers abroad tend to be considerably
higher than the rates paid for comparable jobs
in this country.

39

APPENDIX I—M A JO R O IL FIELDS IN THE UNITED STA TES1

130 fields produced half of the United States oil in 1948
State and field

Arkansas:
Magnolia _ _
Smackover _ _ _ _
California:
Buena Vista
Coalinga, East
Coalinga, Nose
Coalinga, West
Coles Levee, North___
Elk Hills_____________
Kern Front
Kern River
K ettlem a n , N orth
Dome.
McKittrick-Cymric___
Midway-Sunset
Mount Poso
Rio Bravo _
Elwood _ _
Orcutt
Santa Maria Valley__^
Ventura Avenue
Brea Olinda
Coyote, West
Dominguez
Huntington Beach
Inglewood _
Long Beach _ ___
Montebello _ _ _ _ _
Richfield
__
Santa Fe Springs
Seal Beach
Torrance
Wilmington
Colorado:
Rangely
Illinois:
Bridgeport
Louden
Robinson
Salem
Kansas:
El Dorado
Silica
Trapp
Louisiana:
Caddo
Delhi-Big Creek
Erath _
Haynesville
Iowa_ _
40




County

Columbia.
Union, Ouachita.
Kern.
Fresno.
Fresno.
Fresno.
Kern.
Kern.
Kern.
Kern.
Fresno, Kings.
Kern.
Kern.
Kern.
Kern.
Santa Barbara.
Santa Barbara.
Santa Barbara.
Ventura.
Orange.
Orange.
Los Angeles.
Orange.
Los Angeles.
Los Angeles.
Los Angeles.
Orange.
Los Angeles.
Los Angeles.
Los Angeles.
Los Angeles.
Rio Blanco.
Lawrence.
Effingham, Fayette.
Crawford.
Marion.
Butler.
Rice, Barton.
Russell, Barton.
Caddo.
Richland, Franklin.
Vermillion.
Claiborne.
Calcasille, Jeff Davis.

State and field

County

Louisiana—Continued
Jennings_____________ Acadia.
Lafitte_______________ Caddo, Jefferson.
Rodessa (Ark.-La.Mille (Ark.), Caddo (La.),
Tex.)
Cass (Texas).
Vinton_______________ Calcasieu.
Mississippi:
Cranfield_____________Adams, Franklin.
Heidelberg___________ Jasper.
Tinsley______________ Yazoo.
New Mexico:
Eunice_______________ Lea.
Hobbs_______________ Lea.
Monument___________Lea.
Vacuum_____________ Lea.
Oklahoma:
Avant_______________ Osage.
Bowlegs______________ Seminole.
Burbank_____________ Osage, Kay.
Cement______________Caddo, Grady.
Cushing______________ Creek, Payne.
Earlsboro____________ Seminole, Pottawatomee.
Edmond, West_______ Logan, California, Cana­
dian, Kingfisher.
Fitts_________________Pontotoc.
Glenn Pool___________Creek, Tulsa.
Healdton_____________ Carter, Jefferson.
Hewitt and West_____ Carter.
Little River__________ Seminole.
Oklahoma City_______ Oklahoma, Cleveland.
Seminole City________ Seminole.
Sholem Alechem______ Carter, Stephens.
St. Louis_____________ Pottawatomee.
Tonkawa_____________ Noble, May.
Vehna_______________ Stephens.
Pennsylvania:
Allegheny____________ Allegheny.
Bradford_____________ McKean (Pa.), Allegany
(NY).
Texas:
Eastern Texas:
East Texas field__Smith, Rusk, Gregg, Upshur,
Cherokee.
Hawkins_________Wood.
Mexia___________ Limestone.
Powell___________Navarro.
Talco____________ Frankline, Titus.
Van_____________ Van Zandt.
Source: Oil and Gas Journal, The Petroleum Publishing Co., Tulsa,
Okla.

APPENDIX I—M A JO R O IL FIELDS IN THE UNITED STATES—Continued
County

State and field

Texas—Continued
North Texas:
Burkburnett_____
K. M. A_________
Electra__________
Panhandle Texas:
Badger__________
Borger-Pantex___
Finley___________
West Pampa_____
Southwest Texas:
Luling-Bravon___
Darst Creek_____
Texas Gulf coast:
Agua Dulce to La
Gloria.
Anahuac_________
Barbers Hill_____
Conroe__________
Greta____________
Hastings_________
Hull_____________
Humble and Light.
Katy____________
Magnet-Withers
and North.
Old Ocean_______
Refugio area_____
Sour Lake_______
Spindletop_______
Thompson_______
Tom O’Connor___




Wichita.
Wilbarger, Wichita.
Wilbarger.
Hutchinson.
Hutchinson.
Gray.
Gray.
Caldwell, Guadalupe.
Guadalupe.
Nueces, Jim Wells, Brooks.
Chambers.
Chambers.
Montgomery.
Refugio.
Brazoria.
Liberty.
Harris.
Waller.
Wharton.
Brazoria.
Refugio.
Mardin.
Jefferson.
Ft. Bend.
Refugio.

State and field

County

Texas—Continued
Texas Gulf Coast—Continued
Webster (Friends- Harris,
wood).
West Columbia__ Brazoria.
West Ranch_____ Jackson.
West Texas:
Big Lake________ Reagen.
Cowden, North__ Ector.
Foster___________ Ector.
Fullerton________ Andrews.
Goldsmith_______ Ector.
Hendrick________ Winkler.
Howard-Glasscock_ Glasscock, Howard.
Keystone________ Winkler.
Levelland________ Hockley.
McCamey_______ Upton.
McElroy_________ Crane.
Seminole_________ Gaines.
Slaughter________ Cochran, Hockley, Terry.
T-X-L___________ Ector.
Ward, North, and Ward.
Estes.
Wasson__________ Gaines.
Yates____________Pecos.
Wyoming:
Elk Basin (Wyo. and Park (Wyo.), Carbon (Mont.)
Mont.).
Lance Creek________ Niobrara.
Oregon Basin_________Park.
Salt Creek___________ Natrona.

41

APPENDIX II—PETROLEUM REFINERIES IN THE UNITED STATES, JA N U A R Y 1 ,1 9 4 9 1
Location

Com pany

Coastal Petroleum Corp
Hunt Oil Co__________

Alabama

Arkansas

Berry Asphalt Co______________
Do_______________________
Henry H. Cross Co____________
Lion Oil Refining Co___________
Macmillan Petroleum Corp_____
Root Petroleum Co____________

California

Calstate Refining Co_________
Caminol Co., Ltd____________
Century Oil Co______________
Douglas Oil Co. of Calif--------Do_____________________
Edgington Refining Co---------Envoy Petroleum Co________
Five C Refining Co--------------Fletcher Oil Co______________
General Petroleum Co. of Calif
Do_____________________
Do_____________________
Golden Bear Oil Co__________
Hancock Oil Co. of Calif_____
MacMillan Petroleum Corp__
McCallen Refining Co_______
Mohawk Petroleum Corp____
Newhall Refining Co_________
Norwalk Co_________________
Oxnard Oil & Refining Co____
Pacific States Oil Co_________
Palomar Refining Co_________
Paraffine Companies, Ltd_____
The Petrol Corp_____________
Richfield Oil Corp___________
Rothschild Oil Co___________
Seaside Oil Co_______________
Shell Oil Co_________________
Do_____________________
Socal Oil & Refining Co______
Standard Oil Co. of Calif_____
Do_____________________
Do_____________________
Sunland Refining Co_________
Sunray Oil Corp_____________

Mobile___
Tuscaloosa

Crude-oil
capacity (in
operation)

Cracked-gasoline
capacity (in
operation)

Barrels per day

Barrels per day

Stephens. _
Waterloo. _
Smackover
El Dorado.
Norphlet..
El DoradoLong Beach______
Hansford________
Long Beach_____
Bakersfield_______
Clearwater_______
Long Beach______
___ do___________
Santa Maria_____
Wilmington______
Lebac___________
Torrance________
Vernon__________
Bakersfield______
Long Beach______
____do___________
Huntington Beach.
Bakersfield______
Newhall_________
Maricopa________
Oxnard__________
Wilmington______
Bakersfield______
Emeryville_______
Los Angeles______
Watson__________
Santa Fe Springs..
Ventura_________
Martinez________
Wilmington______
Huntington Beach.
El Segundo______
Richmond_______
Segura__________
Bakersfield______
Santa Maria_____

1 Source: Information Circular. United States Departm ent of the Interior— Bureau of M ines—I. C. 7537—September 1949.

42




8, 000
3, 000

1, 500 ____________

1, 000 _________

3, 600 ____________
22, 000
2, 500
4, 000 ____________
23, 300
4, 9Q0
4, 000
4, 000
7, 400
4, 500
3, 000
3, 000
3, 500
3, 600
23, 000

500
850

1, 700

100, 000

25, 800

12 , 000

1, 800

4, 000
2, 500
7, 500
5, 000
7, 500
3, 000

3, 000

10 , 000

1, 500
25, 000
1, 300
2, 400
5, 000
85, 000
6, 300
4, 500
45, 000
52, 000
1, 800
117, 000
138, 000
15, 000
1, 700
2, 500

17, 500
1, 125
8, 000

17, 700
500

21, 200

30, 600
600

APPENDIX II—PETROLEUM REFINERIES IN THE UNITED STATES, JA N U A R Y 1, 1949—Continued
Location

Com pany
California—Continued
Sunset Oil Co
The Texas Co
Do. _ _
Tide Water Associated Oil Co
Do
Triangle Oil Co

Union Oil Co. of Calif
Do
Do

Western Asphalt fc Tiefining Co
Wilshire Oil Co. Inc

Crude-oil
capacity (in
operation)

Cracked-gasoline
capacity (in
operation)

Barrels per day

Barrels per day

3, 500
5, 000
50, 000
85, 000
14, 000
2, 500
8, 100
62, 800
62, 000
1, 200
17, 000

Torrance
Fillmore
_ __ ___ Wilmington
Avon
Watson
Venice
Maltha
Oleum
_ - ____
_ ________________ Wilmington
Santa Maria
Norwalk-

1, 000
13, 000
11, 100
400
4, 050
20, 200
3, 800

Colorado

The Bay Petroleum Corp
____
Continental Oil Co
___
Gordon Refining Co
______
Oriental Refining Co
Do
__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ ___
Shelly Oil Co
_
_____
The Texas Co

Delaware

Denver _
do
Ft. Morgan
Alamosa. _
Denver
__ do
_

____

6, 000
6, 750
200
1, 100
1, 500
1, 500

__

3, 500

________ __ __

5, 500

_ _ _ _________

4, 500

_
__

Claymont

2, 000
3, 975
500
500
260

Georgia

Mexican Petroleum Corp. of Georgia
Idaho

Wasatch Oil Co

____ __
-

Savannah _

__ __ _ Pocatello

600

Illinois

Advance Refining Co , Inc
Arrow Petroleum Co
Calumet Refining Co
Henry H. Cross Co
The Globe Oil & Refining Co
Great Lakes Petroleum Co
The Ohio Oil Co
Pana Refining Co
Shell Oil Co., Inc
Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., Inc
Standard Oil Co. (Ind.)
The Texas Co
Do
____ - - _________ - - ___
B F. Wireback
__ _
Wood River Oil & Refining Co., Inc
Indiana

Cities Service Oil Co
_ _ ____ ____
Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association, Inc__
Johnson Oil Supply Corp
Rr J Oil Af: R.pfining On Tne
Rock Island Refining Corp__ __
__ __



Centralia
do
Burnham
Colmar
Lamont
Blue Island
Robinson
Pana
Roxana
E. St. Louis
Wood River
Lawrenceville
Lockport
Plymouth
Hartford
E. Chicago
Mt. Vernon
Gary
Princeton
Rock Island __

_

2, 500
5, 000
1, 000
200
31, 925
10, 000
18, 500
4, 000
100, 000
22, 700
42, 600
27, 000
55, 000
250
22, 500
33, 000
8, 000
2, 000
1, 200
8, 500

8, 750
1, 000
10, 800
700
33, 600
4, 730
12, 000
8, 000
24, 000
5, 000
11, 000
3, 500
2, 200
43

APPENDIX II—PETROLEUM REFINERIES IN THE UNITED STATES, JA N U A R Y 1, 1949—Continued
Com pany

Location

Indiana—Continued

Khnsas

Kentucky

Aetna Oil Co
Ashland Oil & Refining Co
Louisville Refining Co. Inc
Standard Oil Co. (Ohio) _
Somerset Refinery
Stoll Oil Refining Co., Inc

Wichita _
McPherson
Chanute
Coffeyville
Phillipsburg
Wichita
El Dorado
Arkansas City
Chanute
McPherson
Kansas City.
Shallow Water
El Dorado
Augusta
Neodesha
Potwin
Louisville . _
Cattlettsburg
Louisville
Latonia
Somerset
Louisville

Cracked-gasoline
capacity (in
operation)

Barrels per day

Barrels per day

85, 000
25, 000
175, 800
1, 500

Sinclair Refining Co
E. Chicago
do
Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., Inc
Standard Oil Co. (Ind.).___ __________________________ Whiting
Maxville
Troy Refining Corp
Bareco Oil Co
The Bay Petroleum Corp
The Chanute Refining Co
Cooperative Refining Association
Do
___ ______________________________
The Derby Oil Co
____________________________
El Dorado Refining Co
The Kanotex Refining Co
M. F. A. Refining Co
National Coop. Refining Association
Phillips Oil Co
Shallow Water Refining Co
Skelly Oil Co
_________________________ _ _
Socony-Vacuum Oil Co
Standard Oil Co. (Ind.)
The Vickers Petroleum Co., Inc

Crude-oil
capacity (in
operation)

__

32, 000
8, 000
50, 800

7, 500
7, 000
800
17, 000
4, 000
9, 000
6, 400
8, 500
1, 650
18, 000
38, 000
2, 500
25, 000
26, 500
8, 500
5, 500

5, 650
3, 600
3, 500
1, 200
2, 200
2, 560
5, 800
400
10, 100
13, 000
600
8, 000
7, 100
2, 640
2, 800

8, 000
38, 000
6, 000
16, 500
1, 500
1, 800

1, 100
10, 500
2, 500
6, 000

12, 000
800
900
2, 000
7, 000

4, 300
4, 300

Louisiana
Inland

Shreveport
Hosston
Princeton
Cotton Valley
Superior.

Atlas Oil & Refining Corp
Bayou State Oil Corp
Calumet Refining Co
Coast Oil Co
Stanolind Oil & Gas Co

2, 000

G ulf

Breaux Bridge Oil Refining Co
Chalmette Petroleum Corp
Cities Service Oil Co
Continental Oil Co
Esso Standard Oil Co
Evangeline Refining Co
Gilorease Oil Co
Pan American Petroleum Corp
Petco Corp
Shell Oil Co., Inc
. ___________ _________
Southern State Refining Co
_
__
__
44




Anse La Butte
Chalmette
Lake Charles
West Lake (Lake Charles)
Baton Rouge.
Jennings__
Meraux _
Destrehan
Marvero
Norco
Eola _
_

500
14, 000
110, 000
11, 000
235, 000
1, 000
4, 000
9, 500
5, 000
45, 000
1, 000

2, 650
25, 000
4, 115
36, 700
800
8, 600

APPENDIX II—PETROLEUM REFINERIES IN THE UNITED STATES, JA N U A R Y 1, 1949—Continued
Location

Com pany
M aryland

American Bitumuls________
Esso Standard Oil Co______
Pan American Refining Corp

Baltimore
___ do__
___ do__

Crude-oil
capacity (in
operation)

C racked-gasoline
capacity (in
operation)

Barrels per day

Barrels per day

6, 000

54, 700
6, 500

14, 260

Massachusetts

Cities Service Oil Co. (Pa.)
Esso Standard Oil Co_____
Michigan

Aurora Gasoline Co_____
Do_________________
Bay Refining Corp______
Crystal Refining Co., Inc _
Lakeside Refining Co____
Leonard Refineries, Inc__
Louis Rose Refining C o...
Marvel Refining Co-------Mid-West Refineries_____
Naph-Sol Refining Co___
Old Dutch Refining Co___
Osceola Refining Co_____
Petroleum Specialties, Inc
Producers Refining, Inc _ _
The Pure Oil Co________
Roosevelt Oil Co________
Socony-Vacuum Oil Co__

E. Braintree
Everett___

15, 000
38, 000

Detroit______
Elsie________
Bay City____
Carson City _ _
Kalamazoo__
Alma________
Saginaw_____
Grand Rapids.
Alma________
Muskegon___
___ do______
Reed City___
Flat Rock___
West Branch.
Midland_____
Mt. Pleasant.
Trenton_____

16, 000
4, 000
5, 921

St. Paul Park

5, 000

Crupp_____
Sandersville.

3, 500
4, 500

1, 000

Sugar Creek

37, 100

15, 500

Kevin____
Billings___
Cut Bank..
Laurel____
Sunburst. _
Cut Bank..
Great Falls

1, 500
11, 000
3, 800
9, 500
7, 500
3, 500
2, 800

1, 000
1, 300
900
2, 370
2, 500
1, 200
600

Scotts Bluff
Chadron__
Omaha____

1, 900
600

360

8, 000

6, 000

6, 000

2 , 000

8, 500
3, 500

7, 750

2, 000

1, 800

4, 000
5, 100
4, 500
750
3, 500
1, 899
4, 700
7, 500
25, 000

1, 200

1, 700

3, 000
7, 299

Minnesota

Northwestern Refining Co
Mississippi

Paluxy Asphalt Co______________
Southland Oils, Inc_____________
Missouri

Standard Oil Co. (Ind.)
Montana

Big West Oil Co_______________
Carter Oil Co_________________
Do________________________
Farmers Union Central Exchange
The Texas Co_________________
Union Oil Co. of Calif__________
Wasatch Oil Co.-Ada Oil Co____
Nebraska

Cooperative Refining Association
Petroleum Utilities Co_________
Searle Petroleum Co___________



1, 000

45

APPENDIX II—PETROLEUM REFINERIES IN THE UNITED STATES, JA N U A R Y 1 , 1949—Continued
Location

Com pany

N ew J ersey

Barber
Linden
______________________ Petty’s Island
Bayonne, etc.
Esso Stan Hard Oil Co
Paulsboro
Socony-Vacuum Oil Co. Inc
Bayonne
Tido Water Associated Oil Co
California Refining Co
Cities Service Oil Co. (Pa.)
Do
_________

Crude-oil
capacity (in
operation)

Cracked-gasoline
capacity (in
operation)

Barrels per day

Barrels per day

20, 000
15, 000
10, 000
175, 000
47, 000
70, 000

6, 000

35, 000
12, 600
14, 500

N ew M exico

The Aerex Co Inc

Continental Oil Co
Do
_Maicn Refineries Tnc
McNutt Oil Ar Refining Co
New Mexico Asphalt Refining Co
Petroleum Products Refining Co
N ew Y ork

Prontier Pnel Oil
Gulf Oil Corp
Sinclair Refining Co
Socony-Vacuum Oil Co Tnc
Do
Do

Bloomfield
Artesia
_______ ______ Farmington
Roswell
Brickland
Artesia

200
3, 000
350
1, 800
3, 000
4, 000
2, 000

750
350
200
2, 000

Tonawanda
Gulfport
Wells ville
Brooklyn
- ______________ Buffalo
Olean

10, 000
20, 000
9, 000
26, 000
22, 000
7, 000

3, 500
3, 000
5, 800
6, 900

12, 000
26, 600
23, 000
9, 300
15, 500
29, 400
42, 500
17, 500
21, 000
37, 000
2, 500

9, 055
7, 400
5, 400
7, 950
14, 800
18, 500
5, 000
7, 800
13, 700

1, 500
10, 000
5, 500
4, 500
17, 500
15, 000
38, 600
12, 500
1, 850
6, 000
7, 500
2, 000
45, 000
6, 500

3, 000
1, 700
1, 700
7, 000
2, 500
12, 035
4, 500
2, 750
625
14, 580
1, 826

Prewitt

Ohio

Ashland Oil Sr R,efininer Co
Gulf R e f in in g Co
Do
The Nationa.l Refinine- Co
The Pure Oil Co

Do
The Standard Oil Co. (Ohio)
Do
Do
Sun Oil Co
Western Reserves

Allied Materials Corp

_ _

- _________
-

Oklahom a

Anderson Prichard Refining Co
Bell Oil & Gas Co
Ben Franklin Refining Co
Ohamplin Refioing Co

Cities Service Oil Co

Continental Oil Co
Deep Rock Oil Corp

Denver Prndncincr Ar Refinincr Co

Johnson Oil & Refinin0- Co
Kerr-Me Gee Oil Industries Inc
Mercury Oil Refining Co
Mid-Continent Petroleum Corp
Midland Cooperative Wholesale, _
Digitized for46
FRASER


__

- ______________
_ _ _________

Canton
Cleves
Toledo
Findlay
Heath
Toledo
Cleveland
Lima
Toledo
do
Miles

Stroud
C yril_________________ _____
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ Grandfield
Ardmore
Enid
Ponca City
do
Cushing
Edmond
Cleveland
Wynne wood
Oklahoma City
West Tulsa
Cushing
-

APPENDIX II—PETROLEUM REFINERIES IN THE UNITED STATES, JA N U A R Y 1 , 1949—Continued
Location

Com pany
Oklahoma—Continued

Monarch Refineries, Inc______________
Peppers Gasoline Co_________________
Phillips Oil Co______________________
Rock Island Refining Co--- ----------------Sunray Oil Co----------------------------------Do_____________________________
The Texas Co_______________________
Tide Water Associated Oil Co_________
Wilcox Oil & Gas Co_________________

Oklahoma Citv
do
Okmulgee
Beckett
Allen _
Duncan
W. Tulsa_____________________
Drumright
Bristow.

Crude-oil
capacity (in
operation)

Cracked-gasoline
capacity (in
operation)

Barrels per day

Barrels per day

700
1, 500
11, 000
7, 100
12, 500
20, 000
21, 000
12, 000
5, 000

500

1, 600
1, 700
6, 875
10, 000
7, 000
2, 700
2, 000

Oregon

Stan cel Asphalt & Bitumuls Co___

Portland.

4, 200

Pennsylvania
E ast

The Atlantic Refining Co_________
Gulf Oil Corp___________________
Sinclair Refining Co______________
Sun Oil Co______________________
W

Philadelphia _
Girard Point.
Marcus Hook
___ do______

117, 000
76, 700
70, 000
140, 000

28, 500
22, 000

29, 000
53, 000

est

Cities Service Oil Co. (Pa.)_______
Franklin Refinery________________
Freedom-Valvoline Co___________
Gulf Oil Corp___________________
Kendall Refining Co_____________
Pennsylvania Refining Co________
The Pennzoil Co_________________
Quaker State Oil Refining Corp___
Do_________________________
Do_________________________
United Refining Co______________
Waverly Oil Works______ ______
Wolfs Head Oil Refining Co., Inc_.

Titusville_____
Franklin______
Freedom______
Neville Island. _
Bradford_____
Karns City___
Rouseville____
Emlenton_____
Farmers Valley.
Oil City______
Warren_______
Pittsburgh____
Reno_________

3, 000
1, 650
4, 000
14, 500
4, 800
1, 500
8, 400
2, 000
4, 000
2, 800
5, 500
2, 500
2, 000

1, 000
4, 800
1, 000
2, 674
1, 080
1, 500
1, 508
1, 600
1, 027

Rhode Island

American Bitumuls Co_____
Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., Inc
The Texas Co_____________

Providence__
E. Providence.
Providence__

1, 200
8 , 000

Charleston

6, 500

3, 500

700

South Carolina

Esso Standard Oil Co.
South Dakota

How-Kola Refining Co




Sturgis.

100

47

APPENDIX II—PETROLEUM REFINERIES IN THE UNITED STATES, JA N U A R Y 1, 1949—Continued
Com pany
Tennessee

Delta Refining Co_____________
Southern Oil Service___________

Location

Memphis
Nashville

___ ____________
___ ________

Crude-oil
capacity (in
operation)

Cracked-gasoline
capacity (in
operation)

Barrels per day Barrels per day

4, 000
1, 000

600

13, 000
9, 000
10, 000
5, 200
6, 300
15, 000
2, 000
2, 500
9, 500
10, 000
7, 000
1, 500
2, 000
12, 000
2, 500
4, 000
3, 800
1, 500
4, 000
1, 500
1, 000
56, 000
500
2, 000
5, 000
2, 500
8, 000
4, 500
1, 900
1, 000

3, 500

Texas
Inland

American Liberty Oil Co__________________
Bryson Pipeline & Refining Co____________
Col-Tex Refining Co______________________
Consumers Cooperative Refining Association
Continental Oil Co_______________________
Cosden Petroleum Corp___________________
Danaho Refining Co______________________
Glade water Refining Co__________________
Gulf Oil Corp____________________________
Do__________________________________
Humble Oil & Refining Co________________
Inland Refining Co_______________________
LaSalle Petroleum Corp__________________
Magnolia Petroleum Co___________________
McBride Refining Co., Inc________________
McMurrey Petroleum Corp_______________
Onyx Refining Corp______________________
Panhandle Producing & Refining Co_______
Do__________________________________
Patton Oil Co____________________________
Pay ward Refining Co_____________________
Phillips Petroleum Co____________________
Phoenix Refining Co_____________________
Pioneer Oil & Refining Co________________
Premier Petroleum Co____________________
Do__________________________________
Do__________________________________
Do__________________________________
Prichard Refining Co., Ltd________________
Radio Refining Co., Ltd__________________
Reischman Refinery______________________
Roger Lacy, Inc_________________________
The Shamrock Oil & Gas Corp____________
Skelly Oil Co____________________________
Standard Oil Co. of Texas________________
The Texas Co___________________________
Do_________________________________
Do_________________________________
Do_________________________________
Three Rivers Refinery____________________
The Tydol Co___________________________
Ute Oil & Refining Co____________________
Waggoner, W. T., Estate_________________
Wickett Refining Co_____________________

Digitized 48
for FRASER


Mt. Pleasant _ _ __ __
Bryson
Colorado Citv
Levelland
Wichita Falls
Big SpringsPettus
Gladewater
Ft. Worth
Sweetwater
San Antonio
Tucker
Burkburnett
Ft. Worth _
LaBlanca _
Tyler
Abilene
Lueders
Wichita Falls
Rotan
Shamrock
Borger
_ __
San Antonio
Somerset
Arp
Baird
Fort Worth
Longview
San Antonio
McAllen
Pecos
Big Sandy
Moore County
_ _
Longview
__
El Paso
------Amarillo. ------------El Paso
----- _
San Antonio
West Dallas
Three Rivers
Gainesville
Graham
__ _
Electra
Wickett

200

3, 000
7, 000
7, 000
18, 000
8, 000
5, 000
7, 000
15, 000
1, 000
2, 000
800
7, 000
1, 500

2, 000

850
3, 025
6, 000
300
1, 500
1, 975
1, 950
400
4, 600
4, 500
3, 000
350
1, 000
23, 000

2, 800

750
1, 500
2, 000

1, 000
4, 300
1, 750
3, 000
3, 000
1, 500
2, 500
5, 000
2, 500

APPENDIX II—PETROLEUM REFINERIES IN THE UNITED STATES, JA N U A R Y 1, 1949—Continued
Com pany

Location

Crude-oil
capacity (in
operation)

Cracked-gasoline
capacity (in
operation)

Barrels per day

Barrels per day

Texas—Continued
G ulf

Alamo Refining Co________________
American Mineral Spirits Co_______
Atlantic Refining Co______________
Bennett Oil & Refining Co. of Texas
Coastal Refineries_________________
Crown Central Petroleum Corp____
Eastern States Petroleum Co., Inc__
Eddy Refinery____________________
Gulf Oil Corp____________________
Hamman Oil & Refining Co_______
Humble Oil & Refining Co________
Hutex Oil & Refining Co__________
Magnolia Petroleum Co___________
Maritime Oil Co__________________
Pan American Refining Co________
Petrol Terminal Corp_____________
Pontiac Refining Co_______________
The Pure Oil Co__________________
Republic Oil & Refining Co________
Shell Oil Co., Inc_________________
Sid Richardson Refining Co_______
Sinclair Refining Co_______________
Do__________________________
Southwestern Oil & Refining Co____
Taylor Refining Co_______________
The Texas Co____________________
Do__________________________
Utah

Uinta Oil Co________________
Utah Oil Refining Co________
Wasatch Oil Refining Co_____
Wasatch Oil Co

Washington

Sweeney____________
Corpus Christi______
Atreco (Port Arthur) _
Refugio_____________
Port Isabel__________
Houston____________
____do______________
____do______________
Port Arthur_________
Bay City___________
Baytown____________
Hardin______________
Beaumont___________
Galena Park________
Texas City__________
___ do______________
Corpus Christi______
Nederland__________
Texas City__________
Houston (Deer Park) _
Texas City__________
Corpus Christi______
Houston____________
Corpus Christi______
____do______________
Port Arthur_________
Port Neches_________
Jensen_______
Salt Lake City.
Woods Cress. _

45, 000
9, 000
40, 000
1, 500
6, 500
24, 000
25, 000
2, 200

11 , 000

6, 300
600
6, 850
28, 500

220, 000

53, 350

237, 000

45, 600

2 , 100

1, 000

150, 000
5, 000
114, 000
15, 600
19, 000
58, 000
34, 000

110, 000
20, 000

16, 000
85, 000
18, 000
31, 000
190, 000
40, 000
700

34, 630
47, 000
4, 500
16, 500
24, 000
25, 500
4, 500
10, 400
25, 000
1, 500
85, 000

22, 000

4, 200

6, 995
800

Spokane.

5, 500

1, 000

Charleston__
Falling Rock_
Cabin Creek.
St. Marys__

2, 500
4, 500
5, 500
2, 500

1, 000

Sheboygan.

5, 000

Lusk_______
Glenrock___
New Castle.
Osage_____
Thermopolis

160
3, 400

West Virginia

Carbide & Carbon Chemicals Co.
Elk Refining Co_______________
The Pure Oil Co_______________
Quaker State Oil Refining Co___

1, 200

1, 400
1, 050

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Oil Refining Co
Wyoming

C & H Refinery_______________
Continental Oil Co_____________
Cooperative Refinery Association
Elk Horn Gas Refinery________
Empire State Oil Co----------------


2 , 000

55
1, 500

989
890
49

APPENDIX II—PETROLEUM REFINERIES IN THE UNITED STATES, JA N U A R Y 1,1949—Continued
Com pany
Wyoming

—Continued

Orac° Oil "R.pfinirig On

TTuslry Rpfining On
TrifJnpnnrlPint R.pfinpry
OTiin Oil On
Pilnt Oil On
Rpppliltp Oil Onrp
Sinclair R.pfining On

Socony-Vacuum Oil Co Inc
Standard Oil Co (Ind.)
Tire Tpxaa On
Do

Digitized for
50FRASER


Location

Cheyenne
New Castle
Cody
Lusk
Lovell
Morton
Badger Basin
Sinclair
Casper
do
Calpet
Casper

Crude-oil
capacity (in
operation)

Cracked-gasoline
capacity (in
operation)

Barrels per day

Barrels per day

11, 000
2, 500
4, 500
95
6, 000
200
1, 200
20, 000
3, 300
14, 000
400
12, 000

5, 750

7, 000
750
3, 800
4, 500

Occupational Outlook Publications of the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Studies of employment trends and opportuni­
ties in the various occupations and professions
are made by the Occupational Outlook Branch of
the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Reports are prepared for use in the vocational
guidance of veterans, young people in schools, and
others considering the choice of an occupation.
Schools concerned with vocational training and
employers and trade-unions interested in on-thejob training have also found the reports helpful
in planning programs in line with prospective
employment opportunities.
Two types of reports are issued, in addition to
the Occupational Outlook Handbook:
Occupational outlook 'bulletins describe the longrun outlook for employment in each occupation
and give information on earnings, working con­
ditions, and the training required.
Special reports are issued from time to time on
such subjects as the general employment outlook,
trends in the various States, and occupational
mobility.
The reports are issued as bulletins of the Bureau
of Labor Statistics, and may be purchased from

the Superintendent of Documents, Washington
25, D. C.
Occupational Outlook Handbook

Includes brief reports on each of 288 occupa­
tions of interest in vocational guidance, including
professions; skilled trades; clerical, sales, and
service occupations; and the major types of farm­
ing. Each report describes the employment trends
and outlook, the training qualifications required,
earnings, and working conditions. Introductory
sections summarize the major trends in popula­
tion and employment, and in the broad industrial
and occupational groups, as background for an
understanding of the individual occupations.
The Handbook is designed for use in counsel­
ing, in classes or units on occupations, in the train­
ing of counselors, and as a general reference. It is
illustrated with 79 photographs and 47 charts.
This handbook is now being revised and brought
up to date.
Bulletin 940 (1948). 1950 revision (Bulletin
998) in press.

Occupational Outlook Bulletins

Employment Opportunities for Diesel-Engine Mechanics
Bulletin 813 (1945). 5 cents.
Employment Opportunities in Aviation Occupations, Part I—Postwar Employment Outlook
Bulletin 837-1 (1945). (Edition sold out; copies are on file in many libraries.)
Employment Opportunities in Aviation Occupations, Part II—Duties, Qualifications, Earnings, and
Working Conditions
Bulletin 837-2 (1946). 25 cents. Illus.
Employment Outlook for Automobile Mechanics
Bulletin 842 (1945). 10 cents.
Employment Opportunities for Welders
Bulletin 844 (1945). 10 cents.
Postwar Outlook for Physicians
Bulletin 863 (1946). 10 cents.
Employment Outlook in Foundry Occupations
Bulletin 880 (1946). 15 cents. Illus.
Employment Outlook for Business-Machine Servicemen
Bulletin 892 (1947). 15 cents. Illus.
Employment Outlook in Machine-Shop Occupations
Bulletin 895 (1947). 20 cents. Illus.



51

Occupational Outlook Bulletins— Continued

Employment Outlook in Printing Occupations
Bulletin 902 (1947). 20 cents. Illus.
Employment Outlook in Hotel Occupations
Bulletin 905 (1947). 10 cents. Illus.
Employment Outlook in the Plastics Products Industry
Bulletin 929 (1948). 15 cents. Illus.
Employment Outlook in Electric Light and Power Occupations
Bulletin 944 (1949). 30 cents. Illus.
Employment Outlook in Radio and Television Broadcasting Occupations
Bulletin 958 (1949). 30 cents. Illus.
Employment Outlook in Railroad Occupations
Bulletin 961 (1949). 30 cents. Illus.
Employment Outlook in the Building Trades
Bulletin 967 (1949). 50 cents. Illus.
Employment Outlook for Engineers
Bulletin 968 (1949). 50 cents. Illus.
Employment Outlook for Elementary and Secondary School Teachers
Bulletin 972 (1949). 35 cents.
Special Reports

Occupational Data for Counselors. A Handbook of Census Information Selected for Use in Guidance
Bulletin 817 (1945). 15 cents (prepared jointly with the Occupational Information and
Guidance Service, U. S. Office of Education).
Factors Affecting Earnings in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
Bulletin 881 (1946). 10 cents.
Economic Status of Ceramic Engineers, 1939 to 1947
Mimeographed. Free; order directly from Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Occupational Outlook Mailing List

Schools, vocational guidance agencies, and
others who wish to receive brief summaries of each
new Occupational Outlook report may be placed
on a mailing list kept for this purpose. Requests

52FRASER
Digitized for


should be addressed to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor, Washing­
ton 25, D. C., specifying the Occupational Outlook
Mailing List. Please give your postal zone.

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OF FI CE: 19S0

The photographs in this bulletin are reproduced by courtesy of the Standard Oil
Company (New Jersey). Photographs were taken for the Standard Oil Co. by
Messrs. Rosskam, Collier, Libsohn, Corsini, Lee, Stevens, Morris, Bubley, and
Roberts.