Pan American Petroleum and Transport Company
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Industry | Oil exploration and production |
---|---|
Founded | 1916 |
Founder | Edward L. Doheny |
Defunct | 1954 |
Area served | United States, Mexico, Colombia |
Products | Petroleum |
The Pan American Petroleum and Transport Company (PAT) was an oil company founded in 1916 by the American oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny after he had made a huge oil strike in Mexico. Pan American profited from fuel demand during World War I, and from the subsequent growth in use of automobiles. For several years Pan American was the largest American oil company, with holdings in the United States, Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela. In 1924 Pan American was involved in the Teapot Dome scandal over irregularities in the award of a U.S. government oil concession. Standard Oil of Indiana obtained a majority stake in 1925. The company sold its foreign properties to Standard Oil of New Jersey in 1932. What was left of Pan American was merged with Standard Oil of Indiana in 1954 to form Amoco.
Origins
[edit]Barrels | |
---|---|
<1901 | 0 |
1901 | 10,345 |
1902 | 40,200 |
1903 | 75,375 |
1904 | 125,625 |
1905 | 251,250 |
1906 | 502,500 |
1907 | 1,005,000 |
1908 | 3,932,900 |
1909 | 2,713,500 |
1910 | 3,634,080 |
1911 | 12,552,798 |
1912 | 16,558,215 |
Edward L. Doheny was a prospector who became wealthy in the 1880s from silver mines in the Black Range of New Mexico.[2]
In 1892 he moved with his family to Los Angeles, where he sank a mine and found oil at the corner of Patton Street and West State Street.[3] This began an oil boom in Los Angeles. Doheny overextended himself and his company went bankrupt in August 1896.[4]
The setback was temporary, and a long-term contract with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway gave him the opportunity to develop and expand a growing number of oil properties.[5]
In 1900 he visited Mexico with his associate Charles A. Canfield and Almon Porter Maginnis of the Santa Fe railroad, saw the oil potential of the country near Tampico and began acquiring property.[6]
Doheny found heavy oil in El Ebano in 1901, which he exported to the United States for use in paving. He formed the Mexican Petroleum Company and funded it with $6 million of his own money.
In 1905 he bought properties near Tuxpan, and formed the Huasteca Petroleum Company to hold them.[7] In 1910, his wells in the Juan Casiano Basin in the Faja de Oro field started to produce good quality oil. The Casiano No. 7 gusher spewed out 60,000 barrels a day, and by 1918 had delivered over 85 million barrels of oil. In 1911 Doheny signed a contract to supply Standard Oil.[8]
Doheny's Mexican Petroleum Company made a major strike in February 1916 with the Cerro Azul No. 4 in Cerro Azul. When the well struck it shot a stream of oil 598 feet (182 m) into the air. It became world's largest, pumping 260,000 barrels per day. Over the next fourteen years the well produced over 57 million barrels.[9] The Mexican Petroleum Company eventually acquired ownership or leasehold rights to 1,500,000 acres (610,000 ha) of land.[10]
Expansion
[edit]Mexico | Venezuela | |
---|---|---|
1913 | 25,696,291 | 0 |
1914 | 26,235,403 | |
1915 | 32,910,508 | |
1916 | 39,817,402 | |
1917 | 55,292,770 | 120,000 |
1918 | 63,828,000 | 333,000 |
1919 | 87,073,000 | 425,000 |
1920 | 157,069,000 | 457,000 |
1921 | 193,398,000 | 1,433,000 |
1922 | 182,278,000 | 2,201,000 |
1923 | 149,585,000 | 4,201,000 |
1924 | 139,678,000 | 9,042,000 |
1925 | 115,515,000 | 19,687,000 |
The Pan American Petroleum and Transport Company was incorporated by Doheny in Delaware in 1916 as the holding company for his Mexican Petroleum Company, Huasteca Petroleum Company and California oil properties.[7] What was initially a 51% controlling interest in Mexican Petroleum increased over time. After the minority shareholders of Mexican Petroleum were offered to exchange their shares for class B nonvoting stock of the parent company, Pan-American at the end of 1922 owned 96% of the shares of Mexican Petroleum.[11][12]
World War I drove up demand for oil-fueled transport, and Doheny responded by expanding pumps, tanks and loading sites in Tampico. By July 1917 Pan American had a fleet of 31 tankers. The company paid $1.1 million in dividends in 1917 and $3.1 million in dividends on its common stock in 1918. 1918 revenues were $17 million and net profits were almost $7 million.[13]
In 1918 the Carib Syndicate, a concern owned by Americans, bought the Barco oil concession in Colombia. They sold 75% of their interest to the Colombian Petroleum Company the next year, a subsidiary of Pan American.[14][misquoted] Doheny was also interested in plans to develop the oil industry in Venezuela, and in building a pipeline from Colombia to Venezuela to make it more economical to export the Barco oil production from the west coast of Lake Maracaibo.[15][dubious – discuss] In 1921 Pan American was the largest oil company in the United States, ahead of Sinclair Consolidated Oil Corporation and the Standard Oil Company of Indiana. Automobile production was booming and oil prices were high.[16] The Mexican Petroleum Company was the largest in Mexico, and Mexico was the largest oil producer in the world.[17]
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In 1922 Albert B. Fall, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, leased the oil field at Elk Hills, California, to the Pan American Petroleum & Transport Company. Around the same time, the Teapot Dome Field in Wyoming was leased to Sinclair Consolidated Oil Corporation. Both oilfields were part of the US Navy's petroleum reserves. Neither lease was subject to competitive bidding. In 1924 rumors about corruption in the deals escalated into the Teapot Dome scandal.[18]
On 24 January 1924 Doheny testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Public Lands and Surveys, and admitted that he had loaned Fall $100,000 in cash with no security some months before the oilfield leasing arrangement was made. Doheny said the loan was a personal one.[19] Pan American had been the lowest bidder for a contract to build and fill crude oil storage facilities at Pearl Harbor, and had offered to undertake this contract in exchange for the oilfield lease, being paid in oil and then paying royalties to the government for oil extracted in excess of costs.[20] Eventually the Supreme Court nullified both leases.[21] It was not until 1930 that Doheny was cleared of all charges.[22]
In 1923 Louis Blaustein and his son Jacob Blaustein sold a half interest in their American Oil Company to Pan American in exchange for a guaranteed supply of oil. Before this deal, American Oil had depended on Standard Oil of New Jersey, a competitor, for its supplies.[23] At the end of 1923 Pan American had a net worth of $173 million, with net earnings that year of over $20 million.[24] The company paid dividends of $20.4 million that year.[25]
Standard Oil of Indiana subsidiary
[edit]Mexico | Venezuela | |
---|---|---|
1926 | 90,421,000 | 36,911,000 |
1927 | 64,121,000 | 63,134,000 |
1928 | 50,151,000 | 105,749,000 |
1929 | 44,688,000 | 137,472,000 |
1930 | 39,530,000 | 136,669,000 |
1931 | 33,039,000 | 116,613,000 |
1932 | 32,805,000 | 116,541,000 |
On 1 April 1925, the California assets of Pan American Petroleum and Transport were transferred to a new holding company, the Pan American Western Petroleum Company, in which Doheny retained control. He sold a majority of shares in the remainder of the Venezuelan facilities of the Pan American Petroleum and Transport Company and his Mexican Petroleum Company to Pan American Eastern Petroleum, a new subsidiary of Standard Oil of Indiana. This included the Mexican holdings, Atlantic and Gulf Coasts holdings in the United States, refineries, pipelines and 31 tankers.[26] Standard of Indiana increased its stake over time and by 1931 owned 95% of both classes (voting and non-voting) of common stock of PAT.[27]
At the end of 1925 Pan American Western gained control of Lago Petroleum Corporation from C. Ledyard Blair's Blair & Co..[28] The transaction was to be the subject of a stockholder action in 1933, alleging that there had been a conspiracy by the bankers, who were represented on the Pan American board, to make excessive profits.[29] In 1926 Venezuelan Eastern Petroleum Corporation was organized as a subsidiary of Pan American Eastern with the purpose of buying and developing Venezuelan oil properties.[30]
On March 14, 1925 the Turkish Petroleum Company was granted a concession in Iraq, in which no petroleum industry existed at the time. 25% of the stock belonged to an American group of 6 oil companies, among them the Mexican Petroleum Company. In 1926 Pan American Petroleum & Transport replaced Mexican Petroleum. The famous Kirkuk field was discovered in 1927, but in 1931 Pan American sold its 16+2⁄3% interest in the American group to the Standard Oil of New Jersey which increased Jersey's share to 41+2⁄3%, before any commercial production in the concession got underway.[31][32] In other words, a prelude to the 1932 sale of Pan American's foreign properties to Standard of NJ. The Kirkuk-Haifa oil pipeline was completed in 1934 to an initial capacity of 85,000bpd and remained so until 1948. PAT's share of 16.6% of 23.75% would have provided the company with 3,350bpd at an Eastern Mediterranean port, far away from any existing company-owned refinery capacity and would have made it a minor part of a company that was in the initial stages of an effort to control almost the whole Middle East through its various affiliates.
In 1932 Standard Oil of New Jersey offered $50 million in cash and $98 million in Jersey shares for all foreign assets of Pan American Petroleum as part of a deal arranged with Standard of Indiana which then sold its entire stake of 96% in these subsidiary assets. With this acquisition, Standard Oil of New Jersey became Mexico's largest oil producer.[33] The deal also included large oil concessions in Venezuela and Pan-American's UK subsidiary Cleveland Petroleum Products.[34]
However, a few years later the Mexican properties were nationalized.[35] President Lázaro Cárdenas expropriated all foreign oil concessions on 18 March 1938 and placed them under the government-controlled Pemex, paying compensation to the former owners.[36]
In the 1940s, the case of Blaustein v. Pan American Petroleum & Oil Transport Co. was heard by the Supreme Court to determine whether the directors of Pan American had been in breach of their fiduciary duty. The directors were all officers of directors of Standard Oil of Indiana, which held almost 80% of Pan American's shares, and it was charged that they had deprived Pan American of profitable opportunities to drill and refine oil.[37] The majority finding, setting an important precedent, was that it should be assumed that they had acted in good faith and without personal gains to themselves.[38]
Effective August 17, 1954, Pan American merged with Standard of Indiana, the latter's board of directors increased by one seat to 16, to which Jacob Blaustein was appointed. At the time of the merger 78% of the stock of Pan American was owned by Standard Oil of Indiana. Substantially all of the assets were transferred to the American Oil Company (the former PanAm subsidiary), and now a directly and wholly owned subsidiary of Standard OIl of Indiana. Most important minority shareholders in the late PanAm corporation were the Blausteins, who received 0.777 Indiana shares for each of their PanAm shares (which amounted to ca. 22% of 4,702,945 common stock, the only class of stock outstanding for PanAm). The plan was to issue 777,716 new Indiana shares on top of the then current number of 15,386,519 (+5.1%). The Blaustein interests thus became one of the big shareholders of Standard.[39][40]
To form the American Oil Company, Amoco.[41] Amoco was in turn acquired by BP in 1998.[42]
Production
[edit]In August 1925, shortly after the Indiana takeover, PAT was working under a policy of conservation of Mexican resources, concentrating more on production inside the United States. PAT was running 30,000bpd out of Smackover to the Destrehan refinery, 80,000 through the Tampico refinery and 30,000 through California refineries.[43]
Smackover
[edit]On January 3, 1923 PAT acquired 5 parcels including the 20,000bpd Clark-Mallat well in the light oil section of the Smackover field in Arkansas, bringing the total to 750 acres, all in the light oil section.[44] Smackover was discovered in 1922 and caused a small oil boom in the area.
Refining
[edit]In August 1917 the Destrehan refinery was completed to a capacity of 10,000bpd but at the time of opening expected to reach 20,000bpd within 4 months.[45] At the time of the April 1925 merger it stood at 30,000bpd.[46]
Shipping
[edit]The first shipment from Mexico was carried on the tanker Snowflake, chartered in October 1911.[47]: 116
Name | Tonnage | Builder | Launched | Commissioned | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Herbert G. Wylie | 6,620 | Armstrong, Whitworth & Co | 1912 | [48][49][47]: 118 | |
Edward L. Doheny | 9,970 | 1913 | [49] | ||
Norman Bridge | 6,885 | 1913 | [49] | ||
J. Oswald Boyd | 2,770 | 1913 | [49] | ||
Charles E. Harwood | 5,100 | 1913 | [49] | ||
C. A. Canfield | 9,850 | Armstrong, Whitworth & Co | 11 March 1913 | 26 April 1913 | [50][51] |
George E. Paddleford | 7,500 | Harlan & Hollingsworth | 18 April 1916 | 12 July 1916 | [50][52] |
J. M. Danziger | 10,000 | Wm. Cramp & Sons | 28 June 1916 | 17 August 1916 | [50][53] |
George G. Henry | 10,475 | Union Iron Works | 9 April 1917 | 7 June 1917 | [50][54] |
Harold Walker | 10,000 | Wm. Cramp & Sons | 3 May 1917 | 9 June 1917 | [50][55] |
E. L. Doheny Jr. | 12,350 | New York Shipbuilding | 24 April 1917 | 18 June 1917 | [50][55] |
William Green | 10,000 | Wm. Cramp & Sons | 16 June 1917 | 14 July 1917 | [50] |
Frederic R. Kellog | 10,000 | Moore & Scott Iron Works | 19 May 1917 | 8 August 1917 | [50][55] |
Frederic Ewing[a] | 10,350 | Union Iron Works | 21 July 1917 | [56][47]: 121 | |
S. M. Spalding | 10,475 | Union Iron Works | 17 December 1917 | 7 March 1918 | [57][58][59] |
Paul H. Harwood | 10,475 | Union Iron Works | 10 February 1918 | [58] | |
George W. Barnes | 9,100 | Fore River | 16 May 1918 | 9 June 1918 | [60][60]: 6 |
W. L. Steed | 9,100 | Fore River | 2 September 1918 | 1918 | [61] |
E. L. Doheny III. | 12,775 | New York Shipbuilding | 17 August 1918 | 1918 | [62] |
Dean Emery[b] | 10,600 | Sun Shipbuilding | 4 October 1919 | 1919 | |
I. C. White | 10,600 | Sun Shipbuilding | 14 July 1920 | 1920 | |
Elisha Walker | 10,600 | Sun Shipbuilding | 25 August 1920 | 1920 | |
William H. Doheny | 10,206 | Union Iron Works | 20 August 1920 | 1920 | [63] |
Franklin K. Lane | 10,206 | Union Iron Works | 31 August 1920 | 1920 | [63] |
Crampton Anderson | 10,206 | Union Iron Works (Alameda) | 30 November 1920 | 1921 | [64] |
Cerro Ebano | 12,940 | Sun Shipbuilding | 19 February 1921 | 1921 | [65] |
Cerro Azul | 12,940 | Sun Shipbuilding | 26 February 1921 | 1921 | [65] |
Gulf of Mexico barges | |||||
Mexoil | 2,400 | 14 February 1918 | [60]: 8 | ||
Panoil | 2,400 | 8 June 1918 | [60] | ||
Fueloil | 2,400 | ||||
Crudoil | 2,400 |
Name | Owner | Fate |
---|---|---|
until 1932 owned by: Pan American Petroleum & Transport Pan American Foreign Corp1932[d] | ||
Herbert G. Wylie | Standard Oil of Venezuela1934 | sunk after explosion January 12, 1939 in Caripito, Venezuela[66] |
Edward L. Doheny | Standard NJ1935 War Shipping Admin.1944 | |
Norman Bridge Esso Caracas1939 |
Standard NJ1935 Lago Petroleum1939 | |
Charles E. Harwood | broken up 1934 | |
C. A. Canfield | Standard NJ1935 War Shipping Admin1943 | |
George E. Paddleford Oscar D. Bennet1921 Henry M. Dawes1932 |
Sabine Transportation Co.1932 | |
J. M. Danziger | Sabine Towing Co.1935 | |
Harold Walker W. C. Fairbanks1935 |
Pure Oil Co.1935 | |
William Green | Sabine Transportation Co.1935 | |
Frederic R. Kellogg | Standard NJ1935 War Shipping Admin1944 | |
S. M. Spalding | Standard NJ1935 | broken up 1938 |
Paul H. Harwood | Standard NJ1935 | |
George W. Barnes | Standard NJ1935 War Shipping Admin1944 | |
E. L. Doheny III F. H. Wickett E. G. Seubert1932 |
Standard NJ1935 | torpedoed February 22, 1944 |
W. L. Steed | Standard NJ1935 | torpedoed February 2, 1942 off the coast of New Jersey.[67] |
William H. Doheny E. J. Bullock1930 |
Standard NJ1935 | exploded October 6, 1938 in the Caribbean |
Franklin K. Lane | Standard NJ1935 | torpedoed June 9, 1942 |
Cerro Ebano Esso Dover1940 |
Standard NJ1935 | |
Cerro Azul Esso Providence1940 |
Standard NJ1935 | |
Crampton Anderson Allan Jackson1931 |
Standard NJ1935 | torpedoed January 18, 1942 |
Dean Emery | Standard NJ1935 Panama Transport Co.1939 | |
I. C. White | Standard NJ1935 Panama Transport Co.1939 | |
Elisha Walker | Standard NJ1935 Panama Transport Co.1939 | |
Wilhelm Jebsen Frederic Ewing1920 C. J. Barkdull1931 |
Standard NJ1935 Panama Transport Co.1939 |
torpedoed January 10, 1942 |
George G. Henry USS Victoria (AO-46)1942 |
Standard NJ1935 Panama Transport Co.1940 |
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Name | Tonnage | Timeframe |
---|---|---|
Snowflake[e] | 1,726 | October 1911 for 1 year[47]: 116 |
Russian Prince | 5,800 | April 1912 for 2 years[47]: 116 |
Mantilla | 8,400 | ca. 1922[47]: 124 |
Meline | 10,360 | ca. 1922[47]: 124 |
Mendocino | 10,360 | ca. 1922[47]: 124 |
Mirlo | 10,100 | ca. 1922[47]: 124 |
Montana | 10.360 | ca. 1922[47]: 124 |
Nora | 14,308 | ca. 1922[47]: 124 |
- Steel tug Oscar D. Bennett: wrecked January 1920[68]
- Steel tug Mexpet (1915)[69]
- Wooden tug Pan-Am (1925; A.C. Brown S.B. Co. Tottenville, NY)[70]
British-Mexican Petroleum Company
[edit]The company was formed in April 1915 as a 50-50 joint venture between the Mexican Petroleum Company (Delware) and a group of business interests representing manufacturing plants, railways, a marine internal combustion engine maker and shipping lines all eager to switch from coal to oil.[71] World War I prevented progress and on July 15, 1919 a new company was incorporated under the same name, 50% of the £2m common stock owned by Mexican Petroleum. A contract was signed for delivery of 1,000,000 tons (ca. 7,500,000 barrels) or more annually of Mexican oil projected to last for 20 years. The British counterparty now included Lord Pirrie and William Weir.[72][73] The British 50% of the stock was held by the British Union Oil Co., behind which stood the White Star Line, Cunard Steamship Company and the Royal Mail and others and so the principle business consisted of the trade of fuel oil for ships.[74]
When PAT lost a contract to supply the Cunard Steamship Company with fuel oil in British ports, it sold all of its holdings in British-Mexican Petroleum in the beginning of 1924 at a substantial loss.[75] In April 1924 British-Mexican acquired a large position in the Lago Petroleum Corporation (presumably to make up for the loss of their Mexican supply).[76] It bought 400,000 shares of Lago Petroleum to inject cash into the operation and the Lago Oil and Transport Company was established on May 27, 1924 in which British-Mexican held the entire $2.5m of preferred stock and 51% of the common stock leaving 49% to Lago Petroleum.[77] In the April 1925 Indiana takeover (in which the British interests were again involved) PAT was again united with British-Mexican when it acquired 100% of the stock and the British interests financially participated in the syndicate that acquired a controlling interest in PAT. Then in August 1925 PAT sold (finally) all outstanding stock to the Anglo-American Oil Company, excluding the following American properties in which British-Mexican had some partial holdings in and which were transferred to PAT:
- Southern Crude Oil Purchasing Co
- Southern Pipe Line Co (Smackover properties)
- Lago Petroleum Co
- Lago Oil & Transport Co[78]
Anglo-American Oil had been segregated from Standard Oil in 1911 and in 1925 was marketing most of the oil of the Standard Oil of New Jersey in the United Kingdom. [79] In other words, the sale of British-Mexican was a prelude to the 1932 sale of PAT's foreign properties to Standard Oil of NJ in that it was (1) the sale of a foreign investment, (2) connected to Standard Oil and (3) the loss of a foreign outlet for oil, the lack of which became the primary reason for the later sale of the foreign production assets.
See also this summary: http://www.aukevisser.nl/uk/id329.htm
Name | Tonnage | Launched[80] |
---|---|---|
Inveritchen | 13 July 1920 | |
Inverarder | 8,685 | |
Inverleith | 10,300 | 26 August 1920 |
Inverampton | 9 September 1920 | |
Inverurie | 10,300 | 9 June 1921 |
Invergoil | 21 September 1922 | |
Inveravon | 18 January 1923 | |
Invergordon | 20 January 1923 | |
Invergarry | 15 November 1923 | |
Inverglass | 30 September 1924 | |
Redline No. 1 | 13 October 1924 | |
Inverpool | 6 April 1925 |
Name | Owner | Fate |
---|---|---|
Inverampton | ||
War Hagara Inverarder |
torpedoed February 24, 1942 (Atlantic Convoy ON 67) | |
Inveravon | ||
Invergarry Mount Dirfys1937 Stad Maastricht1939 |
Kulukundis Shipping Co1937 Halcyon-Lijn N.V.1939 |
torpedoed September 23, 1940 |
Inverglass | ||
Invergordon Mount Helmos1937 |
Kulukundis Shipping Co1937 | |
Inveritchen | Anglo-American Oil1938 | |
Inverleith Sunstone1938 Castelverde1939 |
||
Inverpool | Anglo-American Oil1938 | |
Inverurie | ||
Invergoil | ||
Invertest | ||
Invertyne |
Name | Tonnage |
---|---|
Caloric | 10,270 |
Gymeric | 9,500 |
Oyleric | 9,530 |
Wyneric | 6,930 |
Distribution
[edit]The Mexican Petroleum Corporation, incorporated May 17, 1915 to manage the retail business of the Mexican Petroleum Co. Ltd. (Delaware) owned the refineries, storage tanks and distribution stations in the United States.[81]
City | Dist[f] | Acres[81] | Commissioned |
---|---|---|---|
United States | |||
Destrehan | 1,012 | August 1917[45] | |
Tampa | 921 | 17.5 | |
Jacksonville | 1,361 | 15 | |
Carteret (40°35′32″N 74°12′45″W / 40.59218°N 74.21255°W[83]) | 2,029 | 334 | |
Providence | 62 | first shipment July 29, 1917[84][g] | |
Boston | 2,272 | 23 | |
Portland | 27 | ||
Passaic[86] | |||
Norfolk[86] | 1,829 | ||
Galveston[86] | 473 | ||
Fall River[86] | |||
Los Angeles[87] | |||
New Orleans[87] | 711 | ||
Franklin[87] | |||
Curtis Bay[87] | 1,947 | via American Oil 1923 (50%) | |
South America | |||
Cristobal[87] | 1,528 | ||
Montevideo[87] | |||
Buenos Aires[87] | |||
Para[87] | |||
Pernambuco[87] | |||
Bahia[87] | |||
Rio de Janeiro[87] | |||
Santos[87] | |||
United Kingdom | |||
Avonmouth[87] | |||
Ellesmere Port[87] | |||
Glasgow[87] | |||
Liverpool[87] | |||
Southampton[87] | |||
South Shields[87] | |||
Thameshaven[88] |
Up until 1924, Pan-American only sold crude naphta and gasoline wholesale to Standard Oil companies (200 million gallons in 1923) but then in 1924 began operating its own filling stations. At the time of the Indiana merger in April 1925 there were 68 stations in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee.[89] A portion of that network came from the 50% share taken in American Oil Co. in November 1923, American Oil, concentrated in the state of Maryland, became sole distributor for Pan American products in a number of eastern states.[87]
Organization and Finance
[edit]Subsidiaries
[edit]Main reference for the list below (in parenthesis are state where incorporated, date of incorporation and authorized capital as of 1927)[90]
Mexican Petroleum Co. of California (California, 20 December 1900, $10,000,000) - produces, refines and markets oil
Tuxpam Petroleum Co. (Maine, 26 June 1906, $1,000,000) - owns Mexican oil lands
Tamiahua Petroleum Co. (Maine, 3 October 1906, $1,000,000) - owns Mexican oil lands
Huasteca Petroleum Co (Maine, 12 February 1907, $15,000,000) - produces, refines and markets oil
Mexican Petroleum Co, Ltd (Delaware 17 February 1907, $60,000,000) - a holding company
Caloric Company (New York, 4 October 1911, $2,000,000) - operates marketing stations in Brazil
Mexican Petroleum Corp (Maine, 17 May 1915, $10,000,000) - markets oil in Gulf and Atlantic coast stations
Mexican Petroleum Corp of Louisiana (Louisiana, 8 February 1918, $1,594,600) - refines and markets oil
Pan American Petroleum Corp (Delaware, 5 November 1923, $100,000) - operates bulk and service stations in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana
Southern Pipe Line Co. (Delaware, 27 June 1924, $200,000) - company owns $100,000 of the capital stock
Southern Crude Oil Purchasing Co. (Delaware, 29 August 1924, $200,000)
Lago Oil & Transport Co. (Delaware, 10 November 1925, 5,500,000 shares no par) - produces and markets petroleum
Pan American Petroleum Corp of Tennessee (Delaware, 19 March 1926, $2,000,000) - operates bulk and service stations in Tennessee
Transactions
[edit]Pan American Eastern Petroleum Corp: was incorporated on March 26, 1925 in Delaware with an authorized capital of 250,000 par $100 preferred and 1,000,000 no-par common stock by a syndicate of (1) Blair & Co (Chase banking group), (2) Lord Inverforth (managing director of British-Mexican Petroleum with connections in British oil and shipping industries) and (3) Standard Oil of Indiana. Acquired 501,000 out of 1,001,556 of the class A voting shares of PAT from the Petroleum Securities Co. (representing E. L. Doheny and family holdings, who retained substantial interest in PAT and became second largest shareholder behind Pan American Eastern). At the same time, PAT acquired the stock of the British-Mexican Petroleum Co., Ltd. The transaction did not involve the exchange of stock of the Pan American Eastern to Doheny. A plan was announced to split California properties into the Pan American Western Petroleum Corp. to be implemented in the near future. There was no overlap between Standard Oil of Indiana and Pan American distribution inside the United States.[88] Standard Oil of Indiana subsequently increased its position in Pan American Eastern. On September 9, 1927 Indiana authorized stock was increased from $250m to $375m. There were also issued 37,500 shares ($25 par) to buy at a ratio of 4 to 1 one batch of 150,000 shares of PAEastern.[91] Standard of Indiana then also undertook to acquire minority stock of the underlying Pan American Petroleum & Transport Co. After an offer for the exchange of 7 Indiana shares for each 6 shares of PAT stock ended on November 30, 1929, Indiana was in possession of ca. 70% of the 3,442,608 A and B shares of PAT.[92] Since around the same time, PAT was in the process of exchanging 1 share of its own stock for each 2 shares of Lago Oil & Transport, Indiana's offer was renewed a few more times to absorb these new PAT shares: Indiana held 83% (93% class A and 79% class B) prior to the renewal lasting from July 1 to August 15, 1930 and held 92% when it announced to continue the exchange at the same 7:6 rate between October 1 and November 15, 1930.[93][94]
Pan American Western Petroleum Co.: Incorporated in Delaware on May 7, 1925, acquired from PAT 100% of the stock of the Pan American Petroleum Co. (Calif.) for $23,293,125, $11,250,000 were in the form of 15-year notes and the rest in cash raised from the sale of 500,000 Pan American Western shares, 100,000 class A voting shares acquired at $23.50 by the Petroleum Securities Co. (Doheny family) and 400,000 class B nonvoting shares at $23.50 sold principally to existing PAT shareholders who were offered the right to subscribe to a share for each 7 shares of PAT they held and with Petroleum Securities obtaining all those class B shares that could not be sold otherwise. The California company continued as the operating subsidiary of Pan American Western.[95][96][97] The Richfield Oil Corporation acquired all outstanding class A and a substantial block of class B shares from Doheny's Petroleum Securities Co. in a June 20, 1928 deal in which Richfield also announced the intention to buy the balance of shares in the future in exchange for Richfield stock. Also purchased were all of the physical assets of Pacific Petroleum Products Co. The result was a withdrawal of Doheny interests from all refining and marketing on the West Coast. Petroleum Securities Co. entered into a 10-year contract to sell their entire 20,000bpd crude production to Richfield (who produced 40,000bpd).[98]
Pan American Foreign Corp. (Delaware): was incorporated on March 9, 1932[99] with an authorized capital of 1,100,000 class A and 3,000,000 class B. PAT received in exchange for its foreign assets all newly created outstanding shares of ForeignCorp, the number of shares exactly equal to the number of shares of the parent company. The shares were distributed to PAT shareholders one ForeignCorp share for each PAT share. Standard Oil of Indiana held 96% of the common stock of PAT and so received 96% of the stock of ForeignCorp, which it agreed to sell in bulk to Standard Oil of New Jersey. Jersey offered $50m in cash and an estimated $96m in stock for 100% of ForeignCorp shares, based on the book value of the ForeignCorp assets on April 30, 1932 and the book value of Jersey shares on December 31, 1931.[100] Standard of Indiana's 96%, or 971,897 "A" and 2,301,400 "B" ForeignCorp shares, amounted to $47,910,106 in cash and 1,778,973 Jersey shares, both of which were paid in 5 annual installments, the last due May 5, 1936. Jersey bought its own shares for the first 4 installments on the open market and issued new shares for the last installment.[101] The Pan American Foreign Corp. was dissolved at the end of 1936 to avoid double taxation under the Revenue Act of 1936.[102] Lloyd's register listed Pan American Foreign Corp. as owners of the transferred tankers in 1932 and Standard of New Jersey as owners in 1935.
In popular culture
[edit]The novel Oil! by Upton Sinclair published in 1927 is loosely based on Doheney's life and the story of Pan American.[42] Oil! was in turn the inspiration for the 2007 film There Will Be Blood.
A photo by Walker Evans in Let Us Now Praise Famous Men of a post office in Sprott, AL shows a Pan-Am pump.[103]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Launched for the USSB as Wilhelm Jebsen
- ^ Launched as Sun Shine
- ^ Data from Lloyd's Register
- ^ except George E. Paddleford
- ^ Handled first overseas shipment from Mexico for the company
- ^ Sea route distance from Tampico in nautical miles (832nm to Straits of Florida junction)[82]
- ^ E.L. Doheny sailed from Tampico on 19 July[85]
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ a b c "World Crude Oil Production, by Countries, by Years". The Oil Weekly. Vol. 88, no. 8. 31 January 1938. p. 28.
- ^ Bonino 2008, p. 15.
- ^ Bonino 2008, p. 20.
- ^ Bonino 2008, p. 21.
- ^ Bonino 2008, p. 23-24.
- ^ Bonino 2008, p. 26.
- ^ a b Vassiliou 2009b, p. 160.
- ^ Hart 2006, p. 156.
- ^ Davis 1998, p. 107-109.
- ^ Haber, Maurer & Razo 2003, p. 194.
- ^ Walker's Manual of California Securities 1916. 1916. p. 327.
- ^ "Pan American Petroleum & Transport Co. - Annual Report FY ending Dec 31, 1922". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 116, no. 3020. 12 May 1923. p. 2124.
- ^ Davis 1998, p. 116.
- ^ Vassiliou 2009, p. 139.
- ^ McBeth 2002, p. 95.
- ^ Davis 1998, p. 128.
- ^ Davis 1998, p. 141.
- ^ Gross & Gross 1998, p. 78-79.
- ^ Gross & Gross 1998, p. 79.
- ^ Gross & Gross 1998, p. 84.
- ^ Gross & Gross 1998, p. 81.
- ^ Davis 1998, p. 262.
- ^ Hamilton 1999.
- ^ Davis 1998, p. 163.
- ^ Davis 1998, p. 164.
- ^ Davis 1998, p. 186.
- ^ "Pan American Sells Share in Iraq". The Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 30, no. 5. 18 June 1931. p. 112.
- ^ Swaine 1946, p. 433.
- ^ Swaine 1946, p. 677.
- ^ Swaine 1946, p. 434.
- ^ "Iraq Petroleum Company", Wikipedia, 2025-02-11, retrieved 2025-02-15
- ^ Penrose 2013, p. 94.
- ^ Haber, Maurer & Razo 2003, p. 216-217.
- ^ Bamberg 1994, pp. 119, 547.
- ^ Vassiliou 2009b, p. 187.
- ^ Hufbauer & Schott 1992, p. 82.
- ^ Nelson 2003, p. 179.
- ^ Nelson 2003, p. 180.
- ^ "Pan American Petroleum & Transport Co. - To Merge With Parent". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 179, no. 5299. 15 February 1954. p. 719.
- ^ "Standard Oil Co. (Indiana) - Unit Merged". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 180, no. 5353. 23 August 1954. p. 725.
- ^ Pradhan 2008, p. 375.
- ^ a b Juhasz 2009, p. 65.
- ^ "Says Pan American Netted 8,000,000 First Half of Year". The Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 24, no. 11. 6 August 1925. p. 125.
- ^ "Pan-American Petroleum & Transport Co". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 116, no. 3002. 6 January 1923. p. 84.
- ^ a b "Destrehan Refinery at New Orleans Will Double Capacity in Four Months". Oil, Paint and Drug Reporter. Vol. 92, no. 7. 13 August 1917. p. 19.
- ^ "Effects of Indiana-Doheny Merger". The Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 23, no. 46. 9 April 1925. p. 142.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Mexican Petroleum. New York. 1922.
- ^ Lloyd's Register 1915 Steamers. 1915.
- ^ a b c d e "Change of Flags for Ships". The Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 13, no. 23. 12 November 1914. p. 3.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "More Ships". Pan American Record. Vol. 2, no. 1. Pan American Petroleum & Transport Company. September 1917. p. 4.
- ^ "The Boom in Oil Tankers in Europe". Oil, Paint and Drug Reporter. Vol. 84, no. 22. 2 June 1913. p. 35.
- ^ "Trade and News Items". Oil, Paint and Drug Reporter. Vol. 89, no. 18. 24 April 1916. p. 14.
- ^ "Recent Launchings". International Marine Engineering. August 1916. p. 395.
- ^ "Business in War Time". Pan American Record. Vol. 1, no. 5. Pan American Petroleum & Transport Company. January 1917. p. 3.
- ^ a b c "Ships! Ships! Ships!". Pan American Record. Vol. 1, no. 6. Pan American Petroleum & Transport Company. July 1917.
- ^ "Itasca Due Here Monday to Load Cargo for New York". San Pedro News Pilot. 12 October 1917. p. 1.
- ^ "Union Plant's 1918 Record in Detail". Pacific Marine Review. May 1919. p. 138.
- ^ a b "New Tankers". Pan American Record. Vol. 2, no. 4. Pan American Petroleum & Transport Company. March 1918. p. 9.
- ^ "SS S. M. Spalding". Pan American Record. Vol. 2, no. 5. Pan American Petroleum & Transport Company. May 1918. p. 7.
- ^ a b c d "S.S. George W. Barnes". Pan American Record. Vol. 2, no. 6. Pan American Petroleum & Transport Company. July 1918. p. 7.
- ^ "Eastern Yard Sets Fitting-Out Record". The Marine Review. December 1918. p. 556.
- ^ "U.S. Ships Delivered by American Yards". The Marine Review. February 1919. p. 105.
- ^ a b "(no title)". San Francisco Call. 21 August 1920. p. 16.
{{cite news}}
: Cite uses generic title (help) - ^ "Tanker on Trial Trip". San Pedro Daily News. 25 January 1921. p. 1.
- ^ a b "Progress of Construction". Pacific Marine Review. April 1921. p. 212.
- ^ "Tanker Lost in Explosion". The New York Times. Vol. 88, no. 29576. 15 January 1939. p. 32.
- ^ "3 Survivors of Standard Oil Tanker Picked Up Near South Jersey". The New York Times. Vol. 91, no. 30700. 12 February 1942. p. 1.
- ^ "News of Mexican Oil Fields". The Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 18, no. 33. 16 January 1920. p. 46.
- ^ "Tugboat Information". www.tugboatinformation.com. Archived from the original on 2024-11-05. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- ^ https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/30/30b0910.pdf
- ^ "Mexican Petroleum Co Ltd (Delaware) - Report for FY ending 1914-12-31". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 101, no. 2615. 7 August 1915. p. 446.
- ^ "Pan American Petroleum & Transport Co. - Report for FY ending 1918-12-31". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 109, no. 2831. 27 September 1919. p. 1270.
- ^ "British Mexican Petroleum Company - Organized". The Commercial and Financial Chronicle. 26 July 1919. p. 373.
- ^ "Doheny Interests Plan to Branch Out Into Refining and Marketing". National Petroleum News. Vol. 15, no. 7. 14 February 1923. p. 22.
- ^ "Pan American Petroleum & Tranport Co. - Sells British Holding". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 118, no. 3054. 5 January 1924. p. 92.
- ^ "Lago Petroleum Co. - British Acquire Interest". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 118, no. 3069. 19 April 1924. p. 1919.
- ^ "Lago Petroleum Corporation - Status". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 119, no. 3090. 13 September 1924. p. 1289.
- ^ "Pan American Petroleum & Transport Co". The Commercial and Financial Chronicle. 22 August 1925. p. 987.
- ^ "Anglo-American Oil Co., LTD". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 125, no. 3257. 26 November 1927. p. 154.
- ^ "List_of_ships_built_by_Harland_&_Wolff_(1859–1929)", Wikipedia, 2025-02-20, retrieved 2025-02-22
- ^ a b "Concise History of tne Pan-American Petroleum & Transport Company and its Subsidiaries". Pan American Record. Vol. 1, no. 1. Pan American Petroleum & Transport Company. September 1916. p. 9.
- ^ https://maritimesafetyinnovationlab.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/pub151-distances-btw-ports.pdf
- ^ 1924 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map
- ^ "Kettle Point, Providence". Pan American Record. Vol. 2, no. 1. Pan American Petroleum & Transport Company. September 1917. p. 6.
- ^ "July 1917 Tampico Shipments". Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 16, no. 12. 23 August 1917. p. 24.
- ^ a b c d "Effects of Indiana-Doheny Merger". The Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 23, no. 46. 9 April 1925. p. 142.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Doheny Interests Buy Into American Co". National Petroleum News. Vol. 15, no. 46. 14 November 1923. p. 73.
- ^ a b "Pan American Petroleum & Transport Co. - Control of company sold by E. L. Doheny to Standard Oil Co. of Indiana..." Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 120, no. 3119. 4 April 1925. p. 1757.
- ^ "Effects of Indiana-Doheny Merger". The Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 23, no. 46. 9 April 1925. p. 142.
- ^ "Pan American Petroleum & Transport Co". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 125, no. 3257. 26 November 1927. p. 214.
- ^ "Standard Oil Co. of Indiana. - Stock Increases Approved". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 125, no. 3246. 10 September 1927. p. 1473.
- ^ "Standard Oil Co. of Indiana. - Approximately 70% of Pan American Petroleum & Transport Co. Common and Class B Stocks Held". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 129, no. 3363. 7 December 1929. p. 3648.
- ^ "Standard Oil Co. of Indiana - Renews offer". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 130, no. 3392. 28 June 1930. p. 4625.
- ^ "Standard Oil Co. (Indiana) - Renews Offer to Exchange Stock..." Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 131, no. 3405. 27 September 1930. p. 2080.
- ^ "Pan American Western Segregation Terms". The Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 24, no. 13. 20 August 1925. p. 68.
- ^ "Pan American Western Petroleum Co. - Acquisition". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 121, no. 3144. 26 September 1925. p. 1578.
- ^ "Pan American Western Petroleum Co". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 125, no. 3257. 26 November 1927. p. 215.
- ^ "Richfield Oil Co. of California - Listing". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 126, no. 3287. 23 June 1928. p. 3942.
- ^ "Pan American Petroleum & Transport Co. - To Reduce Capitalization". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 134, no. 3490. 14 May 1932. p. 3651.
- ^ "Pan American Foreign Corp. Incoroprated in Delaware". The Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 30, no. 52. 12 May 1932. p. 22.
- ^ "Standard Oil Co. (NJ) - Listing". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 141, no. 3673. 16 November 1935. p. 3238.
- ^ "Dissolve Holding Company". National Petroleum News. Vol. 28, no. 52. 23 December 1936. p. 45.
- ^ Levy 2007.
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