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The discovery of the Glenn Pool Oil Reserve in 1905 brought the first major oil pipelines into Oklahoma, and instigated the first large scale oil boom in the state. Located near what was—at the time—the small town of
Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
, the resultant establishment of the oil fields in the area contributed greatly to the early growth and success of the city, as Tulsa became the petroleum and transportation center of the state, and the world. During the boom, several
Creek Indian The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsCalifornia Gold Rush and Nevada Silver Rush combined, as well as the increased investment capital and industrial infrastructure the boom brought with it. The town of
Glenpool, Oklahoma Glenpool is a city in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Tulsa Metropolitan Statistical Area (TMSA). As of 2020, the population was 14,040, which represented an increase of 29.9% since the 2010 census, which reported the to ...
was founded in 1906 as a direct result of the oil reserve's discovery.


History


Background

Oil speculation was already rampant in the Tulsa region following the Red Fork discovery in 1901. One of the early successes was Galbreath's 125 barrel per day well, northeast of Red Fork. On 3 July 1901, Galbreath camped on the Glenn farm, when Bob Glenn showed Galbreath a
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficia ...
with traces of oil. Further progress awaited federal approval of an oil lease. At the turn of the 20th century, the federal government dissolved tribal land claims of the
Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...
in favor of a distribution of parcels to private owners. Robert Galbreath, a speculator and
wildcatter A wildcatter is an individual who drills wildcat wells, which are exploration oil wells drilled in areas not known to be oil fields. Notable wildcatters include Glenn McCarthy, Thomas Baker Slick Sr., Mike Benedum, Joe Trees, Clem S. Clarke, ...
, began prospecting in the area in 1901, and made an initial agreement that year with the recipient of one of these land allotments, Ida Glenn (she being a Creek native) and her husband, Robert, to drill for oil on their farmland. Due to federal regulations of the time, however, it would be years before such drilling commenced.''Glenn Pool Field''
Bobby D. Weaver; The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture; article; Oklahoma Historical Society online; accessed December 2019
Following the change of oil leasing regulations affecting Native American land allotments enacted due to Oklahoma's pending statehood, Galbreath and a partner, Frank Chesley, finally began drilling on the ''Ida E. Glenn Number One'' drill-site in autumn of 1905. Roy Dodd and Shorty Miller made up the cable-tool drilling crew.


Discovery

After almost giving up and conceding the well to probably be a "dry hole", Galbreath noticed signs of
gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...
flow in early November''Making Tulsa the Oil Capital of the World''
AOGHS; retrieved December 27, 2019
and continued drilling. Due to the depth they had drilled by mid-November, the success of the well was doubtful. After seeing signs of oil in the well debris, however, the pair were encouraged and, once more, continued on. On November 22, at 5 AM, with the well deep into the layer of Bartlesville (or "Glenn") sandstone of the Boggy Formation, the two struck oil at a depth of . The oil soon flowed over the top of the derrick, and the "'' gusher''" marked the discovery of Oklahoma's first major oil field. Galbreath, Chesley, Charles Colcord, and John Mitchell then formed the Creek Oil Company, and Chesley soon leased an additional 600 acres. Galbreath went on to drill 69 successful wells, with only one dry hole. The Ida E. Glenn Number One soon regularly produced 75–85 barrels of
light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 te ...
,
sweet crude oil Sweet crude oil is a type of petroleum. The New York Mercantile Exchange designates petroleum with less than 0.5% sulfur as ''sweet''. Petroleum containing higher levels of sulfur is called sour crude oil. Sweet crude oil contains small amounts o ...
a day. Gilbreath, a veteran of the earlier Red Fork boom, wished to avoid the chaos which had followed that prior discovery and attempted to keep the drilling and subsequent discovery a secret, but to no avail. Several other speculators operating in the area noticed the activity at the farm. The area was immediately swarmed by oil and land speculators. Within a year, the approximately Glenn Pool held over 125 oil or gas producing wells.


Characteristics

Wildcat drilling took place over a wide area, which had the effect of quickly defining the core lay-out of the reserve, an area roughly four miles by two miles with a slope of about 40 feet per mile, and an average field thickness of 100 feet. The Glenn Pool Oil Reserve held an estimated 1 billion bbls of
oil in place Oil in place (OIP) (not to be confused with original oil-in-place (OOIP)) is a specialist term in petroleum geology that refers to the total oil content of an oil reservoir. As this quantity cannot be measured directly, it has to be estimated fr ...
, with ultimate recoverable reserves of 400+ million bbls. The field grew from 80 acres to 8,000 acres during the first year. By 1907, natural flowing oil production ranged from to per year.'' 'Black Gold Days' festival celebrates Glenpool's oil heritage''
article; June 16, 2011; Tulsa World online; retrieved December 26, 2019
Gas depletion caused by massive venting, however, decreased the gas pressure over the same period and the pumping for oil collection then became necessary. Total field production by 1907 exceeded , making Oklahoma that year the leading producer of oil, not only in the US, but any country in the world. The area experienced a huge economic boom. Prices for basic goods and services, however, soared in the area.


Consequences

Oil spills, due to a lack of storage facilities, were common early on. Often, open pits were dug and filled with the oil, forming huge "oil lakes"
website; Glen Pool Oil Field; accessed December 26, 2019
which sometimes escaped their banks and flooded the countryside. During thunderstorms, these "lakes" sometimes caught fire following lightning strikes. Due to this unclean method of storage, the product from the reserve often sold for as little as 25 cents per barrel.
Oklahoma Natural Gas Oklahoma Natural Gas is the largest natural gas distributor in the state of Oklahoma. Originally founded in 1906, it is one of the oldest corporations in Oklahoma. Oklahoma Natural Gas is a regulated public utility which serves 871,000 customers, ...
, Prairie Oil and Gas Company,
Gulf Oil Company Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...
, and the
Texas Company Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an independent company unt ...
quickly built large-diameter pipelines into the area which by 1908 alleviated much of the infrastructure problems the rapid boom had caused. The Oklahoma oil boom created more wealth for speculators than the California gold rush and Colorado silver rush combined.''History of the Oil Boom – Ida E. Glenn Discovery''
website; Glen Pool Oil Field; accessed December 26, 2019
Several of the
Creek Nation The Muscogee Nation, or Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is a federally recognized Native American tribe based in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The nation descends from the historic Muscogee Confederacy, a large group of indigenous peoples of the South ...
land allotment owners in the vicinity became rich, almost overnight, and received regular
royalty payment A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...
s of over a million dollars a year following the discovery. One next-door neighbor of the Glenns,
Thomas Gilcrease William Thomas Gilcrease (February 8, 1890 – May 6, 1962) was an American oilman, art collector, and philanthropist. During his lifetime, Gilcrease collected more than 10,000 artworks, 250,000 Native American artifacts and 100,000 rare book ...
, became a multi-millionaire as a result of the oil production, and had 32 producing wells on his farm by 1917.''Gilcrease, William Thomas (1890 - 1962)''
Self, Burl E.; Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture; Oklahoma Historical Society online; retrieved December 26, 2019


Aftermath

Harry Ford Sinclair Harry Ford Sinclair (July 6, 1876 – November 10, 1956) was an American industrialist, and the founder of Sinclair Oil. He was implicated in the 1920s Teapot Dome scandal, and served six months in prison for jury tampering. Afterwards he return ...
(founder of Sinclair Oil and Refining Company) and J. Paul Getty (founder of Getty Oil Company) both got their start during the Glenn Pool boom. The town of Glenpool, Oklahoma, was founded in 1906 as support for the fledgling oil industry in the area, and had over 500 inhabitants by 1910. Glenpool today calls itself "...the town that made Tulsa famous..."''Glenpool History''
webpage; City of Glenpool online; accessed December 2019
The Glenns sold their farm and moved to California. Galbreath bought out Colcord and Mitchell, before Galbreath and Chesley sold their interests to J. Edgar Crosbie. Galbreath then focussed on wildcatting the Bald Hill Field near
Haskell, Oklahoma Haskell is a town in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,007 at the 2010 census, a gain of 13.7 percent over the figure of 1,765 recorded in 2000. Haskell was established in 1904 on the Midland Valley Railroad. It was ...
. The original well, the Ida E. Pool #1, was abandoned and filled in 1964 by Texaco.


In the 21st century

As of 2019, the field has produced more than of oil. The Glenn Pool Oil Reserve boundaries have shifted about one mile to the west of the original perimeter. The reserve is still producing flow from legacy wells, although at a significantly lesser volume.''Glenn Pool Discovery led Oil Boom''
Zizzo, David; webpage; November 22, 2004; The Oklahoma online; accessed December, 2019
Newer
tight oil Tight oil (also known as shale oil, shale-hosted oil or light tight oil, abbreviated LTO) is light crude oil contained in unconventional petroleum-bearing formations of low permeability, often shale or tight sandstone. Economic production from ...
wells, especially since the introduction of "
fracking Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "frac ...
" and "flooding" techniques for oil extraction, continue to regularly produce oil to this day.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glenn Pool Oil Field Oil reserves Petroleum Tulsa County, Oklahoma