Details for Conroe Oil Field

Historical Marker — Atlas Number 5339007869

Data

Marker Number 7869
Atlas Number 5339007869
Marker Title Conroe Oil Field
Index Entry Conroe Oil Field
Address FM 3083
City Conroe
County Montgomery
UTM Zone 15
UTM Easting 270683
UTM Northing 3353703
Subject Codes oil/petroleum topics
Marker Year 1967
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark No
Marker Location SE corner FM 3083 and Albert Moorehead Rd.
Private Property No
Marker Condition In Situ
Marker Size 27" x 42"
Marker Text One of the great petroleum areas of the Texas coastal region. Opened December 13, 1931, by the discovery well of George Strake (No. 1 South Texas Development Company), about 1.4 miles west of here. Initial daily flow: 15,000,000 cubic feet of gas, along with white gasoline. Strake's second well, a 900-barrel-a-day producer, and the Heep Oil Corp. No. 1 Freeman (both coming in during June 1932) proved existence of a large field. Fast-paced drilling ensued. In January 1933 Madeley No. 1, of Kansas Standard, came in as a wild well and on fire. TNT charges and tons of earth did not smother the fire; it burned about three months. Cratering spread to Harrison and Abercrombie well nearby, and that gushed out of control. In January 1934 a driller for Humble "killed the blowout," by using directional drilling for first time in coastal Texas. This saved the field. (The crater is 600 feet deep.) The Conroe field was the first in Texas to adopt 20-acre spacing, before this was mandatory under conservation rules. It has yielded over 400,000,000 barrels of oil; now produces at the yearly rate of 5,300,000 barrels. After the dramatic discovery here, Montgomery County developed eleven other oil fields, and has reserves for continuing production. (1967)

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