Pan American Petroleum and Transport Company

Pan American Petroleum and Transport Company

A representative gas station emblem
Industry	Oil exploration, production, and distribution
Founded	1916
Founder	Edward L. Doheny
Defunct	1954
Area served	United States, Mexico, Venezuela
Products	Petroleum

The Pan American Petroleum and Transport Company (PAT) was established in 1916 by oil magnate Edward L. Doheny following a significant oil discovery in Mexico. The firm leveraged the increased fuel consumption driven by World War I and the surge in automobile use. For many years, Pan American stood as the leading U.S.-based oil corporation, with production facilities in the United States, Mexico, and Venezuela, and marketing networks extending across the U.S., Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Brazil. In 1924, the company was linked to the Teapot Dome scandal involving government oil leases. The following year, Standard Oil of Indiana acquired a controlling interest. By 1932, Pan American divested its international assets to Standard Oil of New Jersey, and in 1954 merged with Standard Oil of Indiana, which eventually evolved into Amoco.

Origins

Oil production volumes in Mexico

Year	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 initially amassed wealth during the 1880s through silver mining operations in New Mexico's Black Range. In 1892 he moved to Los Angeles, where his discovery of oil at Patton Street and West State Street triggered a regional oil rush. Although he faced bankruptcy in 1896 due to financial overreach, Doheny recovered by securing a contract with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which facilitated expansion of his oil interests.

By 1900 Doheny and his partners identified promising oil reserves near Tampico, Mexico. In 1901 he discovered heavy crude at El Ebano intended for export as paving material and established the Mexican Petroleum Company with $6 million in capital. By 1905 he had acquired assets near Tuxpan through the Huasteca Petroleum Company. Production from wells in the Faja de Oro field commenced by 1910; notably Casiano No.7 yielded up to 60,000 barrels daily and exceeded cumulative output of 85 million barrels by 1918. In 1911 Doheny secured a supply agreement with Standard Oil.

A pivotal event occurred in February 1916 when the Cerro Azul No.4 well near Cerro Azul became the largest single well globally at that time—producing as much as 260,000 barrels per day and totaling over 57 million barrels during fourteen years of operation. Ultimately, the Mexican Petroleum Company controlled or leased approximately of land.

Expansion

Oil production figures in

Year	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

Incorporated in Delaware in 1916 by Doheny as a holding entity for his Mexican Petroleum Company along with Huasteca Petroleum Company and California-based oil properties—the Pan American Petroleum and Transport Company initially controlled a majority (51%) stake in Mexican Petroleum. By exchanging minority shares for class B nonvoting stock by late 1922 it raised its ownership to approximately 96%.

The wartime surge in demand for petroleum-powered transportation during World War I prompted Doheny to expand infrastructure around Tampico; by mid-1917 Pan American managed a tanker fleet consisting of thirty-one vessels. The company distributed dividends totaling $1.1 million in 1917 and increased them to $3.1 million on common shares in the following year. Revenues hit $17 million with net income close to $7 million during that period.

In late-1918 the Carib Syndicate acquired Barco oil concessions in Colombia and transferred majority ownership to Pan American’s subsidiary—the Colombian Petroleum Company—in early-1919. Doheny also pursued ventures in Venezuela alongside plans for a pipeline linking Colombia to Venezuela to enhance exports from Lake Maracaibo’s western shore. By 1921 Pan American had become the largest American oil corporation surpassing Sinclair Consolidated and Standard Oil of Indiana; Mexican Petroleum was Mexico’s top producer during an era when Mexico led global crude output.

In an event that sparked controversy in 1922 U.S. Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall awarded Elk Hills oil field leases to Pan American Petroleum & Transport Company without competitive bidding; concurrently Teapot Dome Field leases went to Sinclair Consolidated. These lease agreements formed the core of what became known as the Teapot Dome scandal. During January of 1924 Doheny testified before Senate committees acknowledging an unsecured loan of $100,000 made personally to Fall prior to lease awards but maintained it was not connected to company dealings. Pan American secured contracts for crude storage construction at Pearl Harbor tied to lease rights and royalties on surplus extracted oil. Ultimately both leases were invalidated by the Supreme Court; Doheny was exonerated by around 1930.

In a strategic move during late-1923 Louis Blaustein and his son Jacob sold half ownership of American Oil Company to Pan American guaranteeing their oil supply; previously American Oil depended on rival Standard Oil of New Jersey for crude supplies. By year-end Pan American reported a net worth of $173 million with earnings exceeding $20 million alongside dividend payments totaling $20.4 million.

Standard Oil of Indiana subsidiary

Oil production in

	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 April 1, 1925, Pan American Petroleum and Transport transferred its California holdings to Pan American Western Petroleum Company, which was controlled by Doheny. Subsequently, Doheny sold most of the shares in the Venezuelan operations and Mexican Petroleum Company to Pan American Eastern Petroleum—a subsidiary of Standard Oil of Indiana. This transaction encompassed Mexican assets along with U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coast properties, refineries, pipelines, and a fleet of 31 tankers. By 1931, Standard Oil of Indiana had acquired a 95% ownership stake in Pan American.

Towards the close of 1925, Pan American Western gained control over Lago Petroleum Corporation from Blair & Co., a deal that later faced shareholder disputes alleging excessive profits by bankers. In 1926, Venezuelan Eastern Petroleum was established as a subsidiary under Pan American Eastern to oversee the development of Venezuelan oil fields.

In March 1925 the Turkish Petroleum Company secured an oil concession in Iraq; initially held by the Mexican Petroleum Company, this interest was transferred to Pan American in 1926. The discovery of the Kirkuk oil field occurred in 1927. Prior to the start of commercial production in that area, Pan American sold its percentage interest to Standard Oil of New Jersey in 1931. This sale preceded the broader divestiture of Pan American's overseas holdings to Standard Oil of New Jersey in 1932. The Kirkuk-Haifa pipeline completed in 1934 had restricted capacity and was located far from existing company refineries.

In June 1930 Pan American acquired assets from Tide Water Oil Export Corp. for approximately $5 million; Tide Water primarily operated as a distributor within Brazil and Argentina.

In a significant transaction during 1932 Standard Oil of New Jersey purchased all foreign assets owned by Pan American Petroleum for $50 million in cash along with $98 million in stock through an arrangement involving Standard Oil of Indiana. This acquisition positioned Standard Oil of New Jersey as Mexico's leading oil producer and included major Venezuelan concessions as well as the UK-based subsidiary Cleveland Petroleum Products.

Mexican oil properties were nationalized in 1938 by President Lázaro Cárdenas; foreign oil concessions were expropriated and consolidated under the state-owned company Pemex with compensation provided to former owners.

During the 1940s the Supreme Court ruled on Blaustein v. Pan American Petroleum & Oil Transport Co., which examined fiduciary responsibilities of directors who simultaneously served as officers for Standard Oil of Indiana. The court presumed actions were taken in good faith without personal benefit despite claims that they deprived Pan American of lucrative opportunities.

On August 17, 1954, Pan American was merged into Standard Oil of Indiana. At this point Standard held a 78% share of Pan American’s stock. The merged assets were transferred to the American Oil Company (Amoco), then a fully owned subsidiary of Standard Oil. Minority shareholders such as the Blausteins received shares in Standard Oil of Indiana and became influential stakeholders.

Amoco was subsequently integrated into BP following an acquisition in 1998.

Ebano

The company's initial venture at Ebano was characterized by its confidentiality, as highlighted in a 1907 report from the Oil Investors' Journal. Controlling an uninterrupted expanse of 1 million acres with headquarters in Ebano, the firm refrained from public stock offerings. Drilling operations proceeded without interruption, although well output was deliberately restricted until distribution networks were firmly established. The heavy crude extracted was mainly utilized as fuel oil, delivering approximately 4,000 barrels per day of raw crude to Mexican railways. An onsite refinery at Ebano produced asphalt that was employed for paving streets in major urban centers such as Guadalajara and Mexico City.

Casiano

Prior to significant discoveries like Casiano No. 6 (July 10, 1910) and Casiano No. 7 (September 11, 1910), a 70-mile pipeline was installed. These wells collectively had the capacity to yield up to 70,000 barrels daily but were operated under restrictions to minimize environmental consequences. By September 17, 1910, the pipeline connecting to Tampico was finalized with an initial throughput capacity of 25,000 barrels per day, which was absorbed by Waters-Pierce. Since April 1910, a segment of this pipeline had been used to transport oil to river barges. By 1914, infrastructure included steel storage tanks holding over 8 million barrels and concrete reservoirs with a capacity of 2 million barrels. Contracts amounting to 30,000 barrels per day were secured with both domestic and international clients. Production from Casiano No. 7 and Cerro Azul wells satisfied demand levels; meanwhile, Casiano No. 6 was decommissioned. Casiano No. 7 produced roughly 21,500 barrels daily and had yielded around 31 million barrels by June 1914. Three parallel eight-inch pipelines linked the field to Tampico, collectively delivering up to 70,000 barrels per day including output from Cerro Azul. The facilities encompassed a port and tank farm at San Geronimo () and a railway stretching 35 miles connecting the port with Casiano and Cerro Azul. By March 1915, the pipeline network had expanded to include two parallel eight-inch lines each spanning 22 miles to Cerro Azul and an additional lateral line of 18 miles servicing Tres Hermanos.

Smackover

On January 3, 1923, PAT expanded its holdings by acquiring five tracts including the Clark-Mallat well in Smackover's light oil zone, capable of producing 20,000 barrels per day. This acquisition increased PAT’s acreage in this prolific region to approximately 750 acres. The Smackover field had been discovered in 1922 and sparked a significant local oil boom.

In General

Following the Indiana acquisition by August 1925, PAT shifted its emphasis toward preserving Mexican reserves while prioritizing production within the United States. Output figures included approximately 30,000 barrels per day from Smackover directed to the Destrehan refinery; around 80,000 barrels per day processed through the Tampico refinery; and an additional 30,000 barrels daily refined in California facilities.

Refining

The Destrehan refinery commenced operations in August 1917 with an initial processing capacity of 10,000 barrels per day and targeted an increase to 20,000 barrels daily within four months. By the time of the April 1925 merger, its capacity had grown to handle up to 30,000 barrels per day.

Shipping

The tanker Snowflake carried PAT’s inaugural shipment from Mexico in October of 1911.

Tankers owned

Name	Tonnage	Builder	Launched	Commissioned
Herbert G. Wylie	6,620	Armstrong, Whitworth & Co (UK)		1912
Edward L. Doheny	9,970	(UK)		1913
Norman Bridge	6,885	(UK)		1913
J. Oswald Boyd	2,770	(UK)		1913
Charles E. Harwood	5,100	(UK)		1913
C. A. Canfield	9,850	Armstrong, Whitworth & Co (UK)	March 11, 1913	April 26, 1913
George E. Paddleford	7,500	Harlan & Hollingsworth (US)	April 18, 1916	July12,1916
J. M. Danziger	10,000	William Cramp & Sons (US)	June28,1916	August17,1916
George G. Henry (USS Victoria AO-46)	10,475	Union Iron Works (US)	April9,1917	June7,1917
Harold Walker	10,000	William Cramp & Sons	May3,1917	June9,1917
E.L. Doheny Jr.	12,350	New York Shipbuilding (US)	April24,1917	June18,1917
William Green	10,000	William Cramp & Sons	June16,1917	July14,1917
Frederic R. Kellog	10,000	Moore Dry Dock Company (US)	May19,1917	August8,1917
Frederic Ewing	10,350	Union Iron Works	July21,1917
S.M. Spalding	10,475	Union Iron Works	December17,1917	March7,1918
Paul H. Harwood	10,475	Union Iron Works	February10,1918
George W. Barnes	9,100	Fore River Shipyard (US)	May16,1918	June9,1918

Name	Owner	Fate
Owned by Pan American Petroleum & Transport or Pan American Foreign Corp until early-mid-1930s
Herbert G. Wylie	Standard Oil of Venezuela (1934)	Destroyed following explosion in Venezuela January1939
Edward L. Doheny	Standard NJ (1935), War Shipping Admin (1944)
Norman Bridge	Standard NJ (1935), Lago Petroleum (1939)
Charles E. Harwood	-	Scrapped in1934
C.A.Canfield	Standard NJ (1935), War Shipping Admin (1943)
George E.Paddleford	Sabine Transportation Co.(1932)
Additional vessels experienced ownership changes involving Standard NJ and various wartime outcomes including torpedo losses and dismantling.

Name	Tonnage	Operational Period
Snowflake	1,726	October1911 for one year
Other chartered ships included Russian Prince (5,800 tons), Mantilla (8,400 tons), Meline (10,360 tons), Mendocino (10,360 tons), Mirlo (10,100 tons), Montana (10,360 tons), Nora (14,308 tons) during early1920s.

• Steel tug Oscar D. Bennett: lost due to wreck in January1920
• Steel tug Mexpet: built in1915
• Wooden tug Pan-Am: constructed in1925 by A.C.Brown S.B.Co., Tottenville NY

British-Mexican Petroleum Company

Established in April 1915 as an equal partnership between the Mexican Petroleum Company (Delaware) and British commercial entities—including manufacturers, railway companies, and shipping lines shifting from coal to oil—the enterprise encountered setbacks due to the First World War. On July 15, 1919, a newly incorporated company emerged with £2 million in common shares, half of which were held by Mexican Petroleum. A two-decade agreement was secured to deliver more than one million tons (around 7.5 million barrels) of Mexican crude oil annually. British investors comprised figures such as Lord Pirrie and William Weir, alongside British Union Oil Co.—supported by White Star Line, Cunard Steamship Company, and Royal Mail—owning the remaining half, concentrating on the marine fuel oil market.

Following the loss of the Cunard Steamship fuel contract in early 1924, Pan American Petroleum & Transport Co. (PAT) divested its British-Mexican shares at a considerable financial loss. To compensate for the diminished Mexican supply, British-Mexican acquired a substantial interest in Lago Petroleum Corporation in April 1924 by purchasing 400,000 shares and forming Lago Oil and Transport Company with controlling authority.

During the April 1925 takeover of Indiana operations, PAT reentered British-Mexican ownership by obtaining full stock control; this acquisition was financially supported by British stakeholders backing the syndicate that gained PAT's management. By August 1925, PAT transferred all outstanding shares to Anglo-American Oil Company—formerly affiliated with Standard Oil—excluding certain American assets partly owned by British-Mexican but assigned to PAT:

• Southern Crude Oil Purchasing Co
• Southern Pipe Line Co (Smackover properties)
• Lago Petroleum Co
• Lago Oil & Transport Co

Anglo-American Oil handled most of Standard Oil of New Jersey’s UK oil distribution following the 1911 antitrust breakup. The sale of British-Mexican anticipated PAT’s divestiture of overseas holdings to Standard Oil of NJ in 1932, highlighting the loss of foreign markets as a significant factor prompting these sales.

Tankers operated by British-Mexican Petroleum Co.

Name	Tonnage	Launch Date
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

Tankers: names, proprietors, and outcomes

Name	Owner	Fate
Inverampton
War Hagara Inverarder		sunk by torpedo on February 24, 1942 (Atlantic Convoy ON 67)
Inveravon
Invergarry Mount Dirfys (1937) Stad Maastricht (1939)	Kulukundis Shipping Co (1937) Halcyon-Lijn N.V. (1939)	torpedoed on September 23, 1940
Inverglass
Invergordon Mount Helmos (1937)	Kulukundis Shipping Co (1937)
Inveritchen	Anglo-American Oil (1938)
Inverleith Sunstone (1938) Castelverde (1939)
Inverpool	Anglo-American Oil (1938)
Inverurie
Invergoil
Invertest
Invertyne

Tankers chartered by British-Mexican from Andrew Weir & Co.

Name	Tonnage
Caloric	10,270
Gymeric	9,500
Oyleric	9,530
Wyneric	6,930

Distribution

From its inception, the firm provided fuel to Mexican railroads, delivering approximately 4,000 barrels per day in 1907 and increasing to 10,000 barrels per day by 1913.

The Mexican Petroleum Corporation, established on May 17, 1915, oversaw the retail operations of Mexican Petroleum Co. Ltd. (Delaware), holding ownership of refineries, storage facilities, and distribution terminals within the United States.

Bulk distribution facilities

City	Dist	Acres	Commissioned
United States
Destrehan		1,012	August 1917
Tampa	921	17.5
Jacksonville	1,361	15
Carteret	2,029	334
Providence		62	first shipment July 29, 1917
Boston	2,272	23
Portland		27
Passaic
Norfolk	1,829
Galveston	473
Fall River
Los Angeles
New Orleans	711
Franklin
Curtis Bay	1,947		via American Oil 1923 (50%)
South America
Cristobal	1,528
Montevideo
Buenos Aires
Para
Pernambuco
Bahia
Rio de Janeiro
Santos
United Kingdom
Avonmouth
Ellesmere Port
Glasgow
Liverpool
Southampton
South Shields
Thameshaven

Up until 1924, Pan-American distributed crude naphtha and gasoline wholesale to Standard Oil affiliates (200 million gallons in 1923). That year marked the start of operating its own service stations. By the time of the Indiana merger in April 1925, the company had established a network of 68 stations throughout the northeastern and southern regions. Part of this network originated from acquiring a 50% stake in American Oil Co. in November 1923; American Oil subsequently became the exclusive distributor for Pan American products in several eastern states.

Subsidiaries

As of 1927, principal subsidiaries comprised:

• Mexican Petroleum Co. of California (California, founded 1900, capital $10M) – engaged in oil extraction, refining operations, and marketing
• Tuxpam Petroleum Co. (Maine, established 1906, capital $1M) – holder of Mexican oil land rights
• Tamiahua Petroleum Co. (Maine, founded 1906, capital $1M) – owner of Mexican oil territories
• Huasteca Petroleum Co. (Maine, incorporated 1907, capital $15M) – involved in oil production as well as refining and marketing
• Mexican Petroleum Co., Ltd (Delaware, organized 1907, capital $60M) – functioning as a holding entity
• Caloric Company (New York, formed 1911, capital $2M) – operated marketing outlets in Brazil
• Mexican Petroleum Corp (Maine, created 1915, capital $10M) – managed oil marketing along Gulf and Atlantic coasts
• Mexican Petroleum Corp of Louisiana (Louisiana, established 1918, capital $1.59M) – focused on refining and sales
• Pan American Petroleum Corp (Delaware, incorporated 1923, capital $100K) – maintained bulk and retail stations in the southeastern United States
• Southern Pipe Line Co. (Delaware, founded 1924, capital $200K) – held significant equity interests
• Southern Crude Oil Purchasing Co. (Delaware, formed 1924, capital $200K)
• Lago Oil & Transport Co. (Delaware, established 1925) – engaged in petroleum production and sales
• Pan American Petroleum Corp of Tennessee (Delaware, created 1926, capital $2M) – operated bulk and service stations within Tennessee

Transactions

Pan American Eastern Petroleum Corp was established in Delaware in 1925 with capital composed of preferred and common shares by a syndicate that included Blair & Co., Lord Inverforth from British-Mexican Petroleum, and Standard Oil of Indiana. It gained a controlling interest in Pan American Petroleum & Transport Co. (PAT) by acquiring shares from the Doheny family’s Petroleum Securities Co., which continued to hold a substantial portion of the stock. Simultaneously, PAT took ownership of British-Mexican Petroleum Co., Ltd. The distribution networks of Standard Oil of Indiana and PAT within the United States did not intersect. Over time, Standard Oil of Indiana increased its ownership, reaching nearly 70% of PAT’s voting stock by late 1929, and further rising to over 90% by mid-1930 through share exchanges involving Lago Oil & Transport.

Pan American Western Petroleum Co. was created in Delaware in 1925 for the purpose of purchasing all shares of Pan American Petroleum Co. (California) for more than $23 million, using notes and cash primarily raised from selling shares to existing PAT shareholders and Petroleum Securities Co. of the Doheny family. This subsidiary managed the California-based operations. In 1928, Richfield Oil Corporation acquired Doheny’s interests in Pan American Western shares as well as physical assets from Pacific Petroleum Products Co., effectively ending Doheny’s refining and marketing presence on the West Coast. Richfield secured a long-term contract for crude oil supply with Petroleum Securities and made offers to buy out the remaining shareholders.

In 1932, Pan American Foreign Corp. was incorporated in Delaware to consolidate PAT’s international holdings. Shares were swapped on a one-to-one basis with PAT shareholders; Standard Oil of Indiana owned 96% of Foreign Corp’s shares and agreed to sell them to Standard Oil of New Jersey for $50 million in cash plus stock valued at roughly $96 million based on book values at that time. The payment was structured over five annual installments concluding in 1936. To avoid double taxation under the Revenue Act of 1936, Foreign Corp was dissolved at the end of that year. Between 1932 and 1935, ownership of tankers transferred from Pan American Foreign Corp. to Standard Oil of New Jersey.

Documentation

Annual Reports

191x				3	4	5	6	7
192x	0		2			5	6

In Popular Culture

Upton Sinclair's 1927 novel Oil! draws loose inspiration from Doheny's life and the history of Pan American. This work served as the basis for the 2007 motion picture There Will Be Blood. Additionally, a photograph by Walker Evans featured in Let Us Now Praise Famous Men depicts a Pan-Am fuel pump located at a post office in Sprott, Alabama.

The Mexican Petroleum Industry

Overview of Drilling and Output in the Ebano-Panuco Oil Fields

Field	Year Discovered	Wells Drilled Dry	Producing Wells	Capacity (thousands of barrels)	Total Production	Confirmed Reserves
Ebano-Chapacao	1901	400	248	139,097	139,128	2,969
Altamira	1907	158	20	6,676	4,552	2,124
Topila	1908	164	153	32,152	31,619	535
Corcovado	1909	211	86	20,523	19,664	859
Panuco	1910	735	564	344,668	319,495	25,173
El Barco-Caracol	1911	123	104	12,527	11,216	1,311
Cacalilao	1922	867	444	276,940	264,784	12,156
Limon	1922	54	45	7,085	6,178	907
Other Fields	-	-	-	-	-	55
Total	-	2,765	1,664	839,660	793,636	46,032

Overview of Drilling and Output in the Golden Lane Fields

Field	Year Discovered	Wells Drilled Dry	Producing Wells	Capacity (thousands of barrels)	Total Production	Confirmed Reserves
San Diego-Chiconcillo	1907	67	21	10,310	9,401	909
Tepetate-N-Chinampa	1909	30	38	147,559	144,619	2,940
Potrero-Horcones	1910	7	15	107,967	107,191	776
Tierra-Amarilla	1911	10	13	1,319	1,258	61
Alazan	1912	18	7	11,140	9,033	2,107
S-Chinampa-N-Amatlan	1913	28	75	210,051	206,687	3,364
Toteco-Cerro Azul	1913	71	74	317,585	310,265	7,320
Alamo-San Isidro	1913	83	85	64,942	63,656	1,286
S-Amatlan	1920	88	98	108,360	104,077	4,283
Zacamixtle	1920	20	30	15,638	14,933	645
Cerro Viejo	1921	27	23	18,735	18,579	156
Tierra Blanca-Chapopote	1921	40	59	91,311	88,701	2,610
Juan Felipe-Moralillo	1922	6	7	2,339	2,209	130
Total	503	545	1,107,256	1,080,669	26,587

Pipeline Capacities (December 1920 & April 1923)

Company	Total Bpd (12/1920)	Pipeline Length (miles)	Diameter (inches)	Bpd Capacity	Origin	Destination	Pump Stations	Operational Since

... other river barge fleets with combined capacity near ~165k bpd ...

Company	Daily Barrels	Sternwheelers	Tugboats	Steel Barges	Wooden Barges
Tampico Navigation Co.	35k
Freeport & Mexican Fuel Oil Co.	23k	2	1

The earliest recorded export of Mexican crude oil took place around May 26,1911 when Huasteca Petroleum Company shipped approximately 32 thousand barrels from Tampico.

Port Lobos oil terminals

Between the early 1900s and August 1925, seven oil loading facilities were active along the Gulf of Mexico coastline, situated between Tanguijo Reef and Isla Lobos near Tamiahua Lagoon. These terminals were ultimately shut down by the Mexican Seaboard Oil Company.

... additional terminals included Mata Redonda (Transcontinental), Chorrera (Mexican Seaboard), Palo Blanco (Island Oil), San Nicolas (Cortez Oil), Agua Dulce (Texaco) ...

Name	Company	Location (coordinates)	From	Until
Tecomate	Agwi

... other prominent shippers included Transcontinental Petr., Standard Oil NJ., Mexican Eagle Oil Co., Texas Co., Mexican Gulf Oil Co., East Coast Oil Co., Freeport Sulphur Transportation ... ... Island Oil & Transport Co., Cortez Oil Corp., Texaco among others ... ... Mexican Eagle Oil Co., Penn-Mex Fuel Co., and others ...

Company ! Aug '15 ! Aug '16 ! Aug '17 ! Aug '18 ! Aug '19 ! Aug '20 ! Aug '22
Shipments via Tampico port (barrels)
Huasteca Petr. Co.	542k	415k	1.16m	1.33m	1.14m	2.61m	3.51m
Shipments via Port Lobos port (barrels)
Shipments via Tuxpan port (barrels)

Penn-Mex Fuel Co.

Established in Delaware around July 1912 with capital amounting to $10 million, Penn-Mex Fuel Company leased approximately 160,000 acres within Mexico. Following the dissolution of Standard Oil, it became a subsidiary of South Penn Oil in early 1913. The company developed the Alamo oil field, which saw considerable production increases throughout the late 1910s, and constructed pipelines leading to export terminals on the Tuxpan River.

By the mid-1920s, Penn-Mex expanded its assets to include railroads and pumping stations; its inaugural shipment took place in March 1915, delivering over 64,000 barrels to Standard Oil NJ.

Although operations were disrupted by saltwater intrusion problems, activities resumed after a legal settlement in 1927. The company’s earnings peaked close to $2 million in the late 1920s before declining due to evolving industry conditions.

In the early 1930s, Penn-Mex underwent a capital reorganization and was acquired by Consolidated Oil Corporation in October 1932 as part of a strategy to unify Mexican holdings amid rising U.S. import tariffs; it was fully liquidated by the close of 1942.

East Coast Oil

As a Southern Pacific Railroad affiliate, East Coast Oil managed leases in the Tuxpan and Panuco regions from the early 1900s onward. The company developed wells yielding several hundred barrels daily and established an extensive pipeline system linking production sites to river transport points at Panuco as well as storage facilities near Tampico.

Its tanker fleet featured vessels such as Topila, Torres, and Tamiahua for crude oil transportation. In 1929, these assets were sold to Richfield Oil Company.

Island Oil and Transport

Created through a settlement agreement with Metropolitan Petroleum Corporation in 1920, Island Oil and Transport entered receivership by 1922 due to financial difficulties stemming from widespread saltwater contamination affecting its wells.

Texas Company

Represented by R.E. Brooks’ interests, Texas Company operated through subsidiaries including Tampico Company and Panuco Transportation Company.

Pierce Oil Corporation

Successor to Waters-Pierce Oil Company, incorporated in Virginia; acquired the assets of Pierce-Fordyce Oil Association in 1918.

Managed a network of five refineries with a combined capacity near 48,000 barrels per day, including facilities at Fort Worth (constructed around 1912), Texas City (approximately 5,000 bpd), Sand Springs (around 8,000 bpd), a Tampico refinery processing imported crude at full capacity by 1911, and Veracruz.

Controlled roughly 25,000 acres of oil properties spanning Oklahoma and Texas; owned tankers named Mexicano, Pennant, and Solarina; maintained an extensive distribution system comprising more than one thousand retail outlets.

Oversaw pipelines connecting Oklahoma oil fields to its refining operations; efforts to initiate stock exchange offerings were withdrawn due to lack of sufficient investor interest.

Pierce Petroleum Corporation was established in Delaware in April 1924 to consolidate the holdings of Pierce Oil; this move was backed by prominent investment banks. The corporation was dissolved in June 1930, with Sinclair Consolidated Oil Corporation acquiring its assets and assuming all associated liabilities such as bonds and tax responsibilities.

Waters-Pierce Oil faced antitrust lawsuits alongside Standard Oil of New Jersey; prior to divestment, Standard Oil held a majority stake.

Mexican Fuel Company, a subsidiary of Pierce, operated in the Topila field and gained recognition for the significant Tamboyche No.3 well, which produced approximately 20,000 barrels per day in 1918.

Year/Month	Highest Stock Price	- style="border-top:2px solid"	Comprehensive monthly stock price records for Pierce Oil common shares from 1918 through 1925 have been excluded here for brevity.