SPINDLETOP OIL GUSHER AMAZES OIL EXPERTS | Beaumont, Texas | January 10, 1901

GUSHER AMAZES OIL EXPERTS Beaumont, Texas January 10, 1901 The Spindletop oil strike, greater than the world has ever seen, was reported today in Beaumont, Texas. At 10:30am, a roar went up as a tower of oil spewed 200 feet in to the air. Estimates are that this well will produce at least 75,000 barrels a day, as much as the 37,000 wells now operating in the eastern part of the United States. This strike is a tribute to Patillo Higgins who for years steadfastly drilled while experts from Standard Oil and other companies scoffed at his tenacity. The success at Spindletop not only confounds the experts, but could alter the global balance of Petroleum power. Russia is now the world’s leading producer with 185,000 barrels a day. The current price per barrel is $2 with estimates that the market price will drop to $.03 per barrel with this discovery.