Anthony Francis Lucas
Encyclopedia
Anthony Francis Lucas was a Croatian
-born oil explorer. With Pattillo Higgins
he organized the drilling of an oil well near Beaumont, Texas
that became known as Spindletop
. This led to the widespread exploitation of oil and the start of the petroleum age.
(now in Croatia
but then part of Austria-Hungary
).
At the age of 20, Lucas completed studies at the Polytechnical Institute (Technische Hochschule
) in Graz, Austria and became a mechanical engineer. After entering the Austrian Naval Academy, Lučić served in Pula
and Rijeka
and rose to the rank of second lieutenant.
. There he settled and changed his name to Anthony Francis Lucas, receiving his naturalization
papers on May 9, 1885 at Norfolk, Virginia
. He married Caroline Weed Fitzgerald. They moved with their son, Anthony Fitzgerald Lucas, to Washington, D.C.
in 1887. He found employment in the lumber industry and later prospected
for gold and rock salt from Colorado
to Louisiana
.
(most probably even crude oil) in the tertiary
sediments of the Gulf Coast region. Most geologists disagreed with Lucas' theory. However, as a result of explorations undertaken and his experience, he was the foremost expert on these formations in the United States.
In 1899, Lucas became a drilling contractor and leased land south of Beaumont
, Texas from the oil explorer Pattillo Higgins
. He believed that the site — Spindletop Hill — was covering a vast pool of crude oil. Drilling began in late 1900 but was extremely difficult. At the depth of 60 metres (196.9 ft), a layer of sand was found. The new rotating hydraulic drill collapsed upon reaching a depth of approximately 275 metres (902.2 ft). Able to deal with the technical difficulties short on money, Lucas asked for help from John Rockefeller of Standard Oil
. Rockefeller passed but not before persuading John H. Galey and James M. Guffey, associates of the Mellon family from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, to join the project.
After reaching the depth of 370 metres (1,213.9 ft), at 10:30 AM on January 10, 1901, natural gas
erupted followed by a stream of crude oil reaching 60 metres (196.9 ft). The eruption lasted nine days and was stopped by one of Lucas's devices.
The "Lucas Gusher," also called the "Lucas Spindletop Gusher," produced around 100000 barrels (15,898.7 m³) of oil a day. The occasion was witnessed by about 50,000 spectators. The population of Beaumont mushroomed from 8,000 to 60,000 within a year. By 1902 as many as 285 wells were operating on Spindletop Hill and over 600 oil companies had been chartered. Lucas possessed just a tiny share in a company he helped to establish. Because of this and other reasons, he left the company at the end of 1901.
The 1901 oil gusher is mainly credited to the work and unending efforts of the Hamill brothers of East Texas. Al, Jim, and Curt Hamill used several different and innovative techniques to further the production of crude oil using the spindletop method, paid for by Lucas. Their efforts allowed Lucas to become a historical oil pioneer.
since significant amounts of energy were needed for fuel. The city of Houston become the national center of the oil industry, with the United States surpassing Russia
as the world's leading producer.
Anthony Francis Lucas is considered to be the founder of modern petroleum reservoir
engineering. He later served as a consulting engineer in Romania
, Russia, Mexico
, Algeria
, as well as in the United States. As successful businessman and expert in mining, Lucas was the lifelong chairman of American Committee for Oil and Gas.
and extraction
, with most still being employed. Some are:
. He was often mistakenly described as Austrian
, sometimes even as a Trieste
-born Italian. On his grave in Rock Creek Cemetery
in Washington, D.C. he described to be of Illyric
origin, which was the standard term for Croatian
at the time.
In 1936, the American Institute for Geological and Metallurgical Investigations founded the Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal prize for development in the area of oil exploration
. A museum with a granite obelisk was built to honor the explorer about which is inscribed: "On this spot on the tenth day of the twentieth century a new era in civilization began." A street and an elementary school in Beaumont, Texas
bear his name.
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
-born oil explorer. With Pattillo Higgins
Pattillo Higgins
Pattillo Higgins was a businessman as well as a self-taught geologist. He earned the nickname the "Prophet of Spindletop" for his endeavors in the oil business, which accrued a fortune for many...
he organized the drilling of an oil well near Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
that became known as Spindletop
Spindletop
Spindletop is a salt dome oil field located in the southern portion of Beaumont, Texas in the United States. The Spindletop dome was derived from the Louann Salt evaporite layer of the Jurassic geologic period. On January 10, 1901, a well at Spindletop struck oil . The new oil field soon produced...
. This led to the widespread exploitation of oil and the start of the petroleum age.
Early life
Lucas was born into a Croatian family of shipbuilders and owners in the city of SplitSplit (city)
Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...
(now in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
but then part of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
).
At the age of 20, Lucas completed studies at the Polytechnical Institute (Technische Hochschule
Technische Hochschule
Technische Hochschule is what an Institute of Technology used to be called in German-speaking countries, as well as in the Netherlands, before most of them changed their name to Technische Universität or Technische Universiteit in the 1970s and in the...
) in Graz, Austria and became a mechanical engineer. After entering the Austrian Naval Academy, Lučić served in Pula
Pula
Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...
and Rijeka
Rijeka
Rijeka is the principal seaport and the third largest city in Croatia . It is located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and has a population of 128,735 inhabitants...
and rose to the rank of second lieutenant.
Move to the United States
In 1879, Lucas visited his uncle in Saginaw, MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. There he settled and changed his name to Anthony Francis Lucas, receiving his naturalization
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
papers on May 9, 1885 at Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
. He married Caroline Weed Fitzgerald. They moved with their son, Anthony Fitzgerald Lucas, to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in 1887. He found employment in the lumber industry and later prospected
Prospecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
for gold and rock salt from Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
to Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
.
Career
In 1893, Lucas started to work in salt exploration in Louisiana for a New Orleans company at Petite Anse (Avery Island). He worked at additional locations (Grand Cote, Anse la Butte and Belle Isle) until 1896, gaining experience that led to his promising of idea of the possible relationship between the salt deposits and the sulfurSulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
(most probably even crude oil) in the tertiary
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
sediments of the Gulf Coast region. Most geologists disagreed with Lucas' theory. However, as a result of explorations undertaken and his experience, he was the foremost expert on these formations in the United States.
Lucas Gusher
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
, Texas from the oil explorer Pattillo Higgins
Pattillo Higgins
Pattillo Higgins was a businessman as well as a self-taught geologist. He earned the nickname the "Prophet of Spindletop" for his endeavors in the oil business, which accrued a fortune for many...
. He believed that the site — Spindletop Hill — was covering a vast pool of crude oil. Drilling began in late 1900 but was extremely difficult. At the depth of 60 metres (196.9 ft), a layer of sand was found. The new rotating hydraulic drill collapsed upon reaching a depth of approximately 275 metres (902.2 ft). Able to deal with the technical difficulties short on money, Lucas asked for help from John Rockefeller of Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
. Rockefeller passed but not before persuading John H. Galey and James M. Guffey, associates of the Mellon family from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, to join the project.
After reaching the depth of 370 metres (1,213.9 ft), at 10:30 AM on January 10, 1901, natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
erupted followed by a stream of crude oil reaching 60 metres (196.9 ft). The eruption lasted nine days and was stopped by one of Lucas's devices.
The "Lucas Gusher," also called the "Lucas Spindletop Gusher," produced around 100000 barrels (15,898.7 m³) of oil a day. The occasion was witnessed by about 50,000 spectators. The population of Beaumont mushroomed from 8,000 to 60,000 within a year. By 1902 as many as 285 wells were operating on Spindletop Hill and over 600 oil companies had been chartered. Lucas possessed just a tiny share in a company he helped to establish. Because of this and other reasons, he left the company at the end of 1901.
The 1901 oil gusher is mainly credited to the work and unending efforts of the Hamill brothers of East Texas. Al, Jim, and Curt Hamill used several different and innovative techniques to further the production of crude oil using the spindletop method, paid for by Lucas. Their efforts allowed Lucas to become a historical oil pioneer.
Legacy
The Lucas Gusher helped revolutionize world fuel use and transformed the economy of southeast Texas. It helped further the development of the automobileAutomobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
since significant amounts of energy were needed for fuel. The city of Houston become the national center of the oil industry, with the United States surpassing Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
as the world's leading producer.
Anthony Francis Lucas is considered to be the founder of modern petroleum reservoir
Oil reservoir
A petroleum reservoir, or oil and gas reservoir, is a subsurface pool of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. The naturally occurring hydrocarbons, such as crude oil or natural gas, are trapped by overlying rock formations with lower permeability...
engineering. He later served as a consulting engineer in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Russia, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, as well as in the United States. As successful businessman and expert in mining, Lucas was the lifelong chairman of American Committee for Oil and Gas.
Inventions and applications
A number of Lucas inventions and scientific or technical knowledge were used in early oil explorationOil exploration
Hydrocarbon exploration is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits beneath the Earth's surface, such as oil and natural gas...
and extraction
Resource extraction
The related terms natural resource extraction both refer to the practice of locating, acquiring and selling natural resources....
, with most still being employed. Some are:
- overhead method of mining in salt mines
- surface exploration for underground mineral deposits
- application of steam-driven, hydraulic-rotary drilling rig and of mud in oil well drilling
- construction and application of back pressure valve
- construction of blowout preventerBlowout preventerA blowout preventer is a large, specialized valve used to seal, control and monitor oil and gas wells. Blowout preventers were developed to cope with extreme erratic pressures and uncontrolled flow emanating from a well reservoir during drilling. Kicks can lead to a potentially catastrophic...
s - designing of well logsWell loggingWell logging, also known as borehole logging is the practice of making a detailed record of the geologic formations penetrated by a borehole. The log may be based either on visual inspection of samples brought to the surface or on physical measurements made by instruments lowered into the hole...
- invention of the Christmas tree oil wellChristmas tree (oil well)In petroleum and natural gas extraction, a Christmas tree, or "tree", is an assembly of valves, spools, and fittings used for an oil well, gas well, water injection well, water disposal well, gas injection well, condensate well and other types of wells...
Heritage
Lucas died on September 2, 1921 in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. He was often mistakenly described as Austrian
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
, sometimes even as a Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
-born Italian. On his grave in Rock Creek Cemetery
Rock Creek Cemetery
Rock Creek Cemetery — also Rock Creek Church Yard and Cemetery — is an cemetery with a natural rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE in Washington, D.C.'s Michigan Park neighborhood, near Washington's Petworth neighborhood...
in Washington, D.C. he described to be of Illyric
Illyrians
The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
origin, which was the standard term for Croatian
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
at the time.
In 1936, the American Institute for Geological and Metallurgical Investigations founded the Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal prize for development in the area of oil exploration
Oil exploration
Hydrocarbon exploration is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits beneath the Earth's surface, such as oil and natural gas...
. A museum with a granite obelisk was built to honor the explorer about which is inscribed: "On this spot on the tenth day of the twentieth century a new era in civilization began." A street and an elementary school in Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
bear his name.