Cerro Azul, Veracruz
Encyclopedia
Cerro Azul is a city in the Mexican state of Veracruz
. Located in the state's Huasteca Baja region, it serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name
.
In the 2005 INEGI Census, the city reported a total population of
23,573.
The town's population grew exponentially following the drilling of the Cerro Azul No. 4 well, at the time the world's largest pumping 260,000 barrels per day (BPD), in February 1916. The well was drilled by Herbert Wylie for the Mexican Petroleum Company, then controlled by California oilman Edward L. Doheny
. When the well came in the sound could be heard 16 miles (25.7 km) away in Casiano, and shot a stream of oil 598 feet (182.3 m) into the air, sending oil in a two-mile (3-km) radius. Over the next 14-years the well would produce over 57 millions barrels. Doheny formed the Pan American Petroleum and Transport Company, of which the Mexican Petroleum Company portion would later become the PEMEX
.
The municipality of Cerro Azul was created on 27 November 1963, and the city was given city status on 6 December 1983.
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
. Located in the state's Huasteca Baja region, it serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name
Cerro Azul (municipality)
Cerro Azul is one of the 212 municipalities of the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is located in the state's Huasteca Baja region. The municipal seat is the city of Cerro Azul, Veracruz....
.
In the 2005 INEGI Census, the city reported a total population of
23,573.
History
The site had been a 10000 acres (40.5 km²) area of rolling plains and hills used for cattle grazing (potreros). Hundreds of little asphalt springs dotted the area where cattle bones could be seen caught in the black seepage. Oil drilling in the area began in 1906.The town's population grew exponentially following the drilling of the Cerro Azul No. 4 well, at the time the world's largest pumping 260,000 barrels per day (BPD), in February 1916. The well was drilled by Herbert Wylie for the Mexican Petroleum Company, then controlled by California oilman Edward L. Doheny
Edward L. Doheny
Edward Laurence Doheny was an American oil tycoon, who in 1892, along with business partner Charles A. Canfield, drilled the first successful oil well in the Los Angeles City Oil Field, setting off the petroleum boom in Southern California.At first he was an unsuccessful prospector in the state of...
. When the well came in the sound could be heard 16 miles (25.7 km) away in Casiano, and shot a stream of oil 598 feet (182.3 m) into the air, sending oil in a two-mile (3-km) radius. Over the next 14-years the well would produce over 57 millions barrels. Doheny formed the Pan American Petroleum and Transport Company, of which the Mexican Petroleum Company portion would later become the PEMEX
Pemex
Petróleos Mexicanos or Pemex is a Mexican state-owned petroleum company. As of 2010, with a total asset worth of $415.75 billion, it is the second non-publicly listed largest company in the world by total market value, and Latin America's second largest enterprise by annual revenue as of 2009...
.
The municipality of Cerro Azul was created on 27 November 1963, and the city was given city status on 6 December 1983.