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39-576: Edward L. Doheny was a prospector who became wealthy in the 1880s from silver mines in the Black Range of New Mexico. In 1892 he moved with his family to Los Angeles , where he sank a mine and found oil at the corner of Patton Street and West State Street. This began an oil boom in Los Angeles. Doheny overextended himself and his company went bankrupt in August 1896. The setback was temporary, and

78-524: A silver rush , and silver and gold mines flourished in the Black Range through the end of the 19th century. [REDACTED] Media related to Black Range (New Mexico) at Wikimedia Commons Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu , Hawaii, west of Honolulu . It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States , before it

117-589: A day, and by 1918 had delivered over 85 million barrels of oil. In 1911 Doheny signed a contract to supply Standard Oil . Doheny's Mexican Petroleum Company made a major strike in February 1916 with the Cerro Azul No. 4 well in Cerro Azul, Veracruz , Mexico. When the well struck it shot a stream of oil 598 feet (182 m) into the air. It became world's largest, pumping 260,000 barrels per day. Over

156-705: A few years later the Mexican properties were nationalized. President Lázaro Cárdenas expropriated all foreign oil concessions on 18 March 1938 and placed them under the government-controlled Pemex , paying compensation to the former owners. In the 1940s the case of Blaustein v. Pan American Petroleum & Oil Transport Co. was heard by the Supreme Court to determine whether the directors of Pan American had been in breach of their fiduciary duty. The directors were all officers of directors of Standard Oil of Indiana, which held almost 80% of Pan American's shares, and it

195-684: A fleet of 31 tankers. The company paid $ 1.1 million in dividends in 1917 and $ 3.1 million in dividends on its common stock in 1918. 1918 revenues were $ 17 million and net profits were almost $ 7 million. In 1918 the Carib Syndicate , a concern owned by Americans, bought the Barco oil concession in Colombia. They sold 75% of their interest to the Colombian Petroleum Company the next year, a subsidiary of Pan American. Doheny

234-600: A long-term contract with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway gave him the opportunity to develop and expand a growing number of oil properties. In 1900 he visited Mexico with his associate Charles A. Canfield and Almon Porter Maginnis of the Santa Fe railroad, saw the oil potential of the country near Tampico, Tamaulipas and began acquiring property. Doheny found heavy oil in El Ebano in 1901, which he exported to

273-473: A token force. During the reign of King Kalākaua the United States was granted exclusive rights to enter Pearl Harbor and to establish "a coaling and repair station". Although this treaty continued in force until August 1898, the U.S. did not fortify Pearl Harbor as a naval base. As it had for 60 years, the shallow entrance constituted a formidable barrier against the use of the deep protected waters of

312-745: Is loosely based on Doheney's life and the story of Pan American. Oil! was in turn the inspiration for the 2007 film There Will Be Blood . A photo by Walker Evans in Let Us Now Praise Famous Men of a post office in Sprott, AL shows a Pan-Am pump. Citations Sources Black Range The Black Range (also called the Devil's Mountains or Sierra Diablo ) is an igneous mountain range running north–south in Sierra , Grant , and Catron counties in southwest New Mexico , in

351-1524: The Near East Development Corporation , the Anglo-Persian Oil Company , Royal Dutch Shell , and the Compagnie Française des Pétroles each 23.75% of any oil that was produced by the Turkish Petroleum Company. The Near East Development Corporation (NEDC) represented American interests and included Jersey Standard Oil, Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, Gulf Oil, the Pan-American Petroleum and Transport Company, and Atlantic Refining. The remaining 5% share went to an Armenian businessman, Calouste Gulbenkian , who had previously owned shares within TPC. Pan American sold out its shares in NEDC to Jersey Standard and Socony (later Mobil ) in 1930. In 1932 Pan American sold its foreign properties to Standard Oil of New Jersey for about $ 100 million. With this acquisition, Standard Oil of New Jersey became Mexico's largest oil producer. The deal also included large oil concessions in Venezuela and Pan-American's UK subsidiary Cleveland Petroleum Products. However,

390-569: The Southwestern United States . The range's central ridge forms the western and eastern borders, respectively, of the two counties through much of their contact. The range is about 55 miles (88 km) long from north to south and up to 18 miles (29 km) wide. The highest point is McKnight Mountain . The Black Range lies almost entirely within the Gila National Forest . The Mimbres River originates from

429-586: The American continent were accompanied by the work of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions . American missionaries and their families became an integral part of the Hawaiian political body. Throughout the 1820s and 1830s, many American warships visited Honolulu. In most cases, the commanding officers carried letters from the U.S. Government giving advice on governmental affairs and of

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468-729: The California assets of Pan American Petroleum and Transport were transferred to a new holding company, the Pan American Western Petroleum Company, in which Doheny retained control. He sold a majority of shares in the remainder of the Venezuelan facilities of the Pan American Petroleum and Transport Company and his Mexican Petroleum Company to Pan American Eastern Petroleum, a new subsidiary of Standard Oil of Indiana . This included

507-400: The Mexican holdings, Atlantic and Gulf Coasts holdings in the United States, refineries, pipelines and 31 tankers. At the end of 1925 Pan American Western gained control of Lago Petroleum Corporation from C. Ledyard Blair 's Blair & Co.. The transaction was to be the subject of a stockholder action in 1933, alleging that there had been a conspiracy by the bankers, who were represented on

546-525: The Navy and the Air Force merged their two nearby bases; Pearl Harbor joined with Hickam Air Force Base to create Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam . In December 2016, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a joint visit to Pearl Harbor with US President Barack Obama . This trip marked the 75th anniversary of the attack and was the first official visit by a sitting Japanese leader. On December 4, 2019,

585-615: The Pan American board, to make excessive profits. In 1926 Venezuelan Eastern Petroleum Corporation was organized as a subsidiary of Pan American Eastern with the purpose of buying and developing Venezuelan oil properties. The Turkish Petroleum Company discovered a large oil field in Iraq in 1928. France, the United Kingdom, and the United States were each worried about being edged out by the other two. The Red Line Agreement gave

624-530: The US Navy's petroleum reserves. Neither lease was subject to competitive bidding. In 1924 rumors about corruption in the deals escalated into the Teapot Dome scandal . On 24 January 1924 Doheny testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Public Lands and Surveys, and admitted that he had loaned Fall $ 100,000 in cash with no security some months before the oilfield leasing arrangement was made. Doheny said

663-667: The United States for use in paving. He formed the Mexican Petroleum Company and funded it with $ 6 million of his own money. In 1905 he bought properties near Tuxpan, Veracruz , and formed the Huasteca Petroleum company to hold them. In 1910 his wells in the Juan Casiano Basin in the Faja de Oro field started to produce good quality oil. The gusher at Casiano number 7 spewed out 60,000 barrels

702-660: The United States." From the conclusion of the Civil War , to the purchase of Alaska , to the increased importance of the Pacific states, the projected trade with countries in Asia and the desire for a duty-free market for Hawaiian staples, Hawaiian trade expanded. In 1865, the North Pacific Squadron was formed to embrace the western coast and Hawaii. Lackawanna in the following year was assigned to cruise among

741-613: The air defense of Hawaii, for American commanders thought the Japanese would attack either Wake Island or the Philippines and had no understanding of the capabilities and proper employment of air power. As it was, had the Pacific Fleet acted on the war warnings, it undoubtedly would have sortied and been at sea on December 7, where the major ships would have been sunk in deep water, making salvage impossible. Shortly after

780-637: The crest of the Black Range north of NM 152. The southern portion of the Black Range, which are also known as the Mimbres Mountains, was occupied by the Mimbres people whose culture peaked about 1000 C.E. and ended about 1150 C.E. Their most famous site is the Gila Cliff Dwellings . Silver was discovered in the Black Range in the late 1870s, first in 1876 at Lake Valley , and then by Harry Pye in 1879 at Chloride . This led to

819-628: The desire for the United States to have a permanent presence in the Pacific both contributed to the decision. Following the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the United States Navy established a base on the island in 1899. On December 7, 1941, the base was attacked by the Imperial Japanese Navy airplanes and midget submarines, causing the American entry into World War II . There was no meaningful plan for

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858-471: The devastating Japanese surprise attack at Pearl Harbor, two American military commanders, Lt. Gen. Walter Short and Adm. Husband Kimmel , were demoted of their full ranks. The two American commanders later sought to restore their reputations and full ranks. Over the years, Pearl Harbor remained a main base for the US Pacific Fleet after World War II along with Naval Base San Diego . In 2010,

897-521: The early nineteenth century, Pearl Harbor was not used for large ships due to its shallow entrance. The United States' interest in the Hawaiian Islands grew as a result of its whaling, shipping and trading activity in the Pacific. As early as 1820, an "Agent of the United States for Commerce and Seamen" was appointed to look after American business in the Port of Honolulu . These commercial ties to

936-405: The entire length of the mountains along the central ridge. There are also a number of campgrounds, some with hiking trails, along NM 152 as it goes down Iron Canyon on the west side of the range. With the exception of the areas along NM 152, most of the range is very difficult to traverse and almost entirely undeveloped. The Aldo Leopold Wilderness , 202,016 acres (81,753 ha) in size, lies along

975-618: The harbor by the Imperial Japanese Navy on December 7, 1941, led the United States to declare war on the Empire of Japan , marking the United States' entry into World War II . Pearl Harbor was originally an extensive shallow embayment called Wai Momi (meaning 'Waters of Pearl') or Puʻuloa (meaning 'long hill') by the Hawaiians . Puʻuloa was regarded as the home of the shark goddess, Kaʻahupahau, and her brother (or son), Kahiʻuka, in Hawaiian legends. According to tradition, Keaunui ,

1014-405: The head of the powerful Ewa chiefs, is credited with cutting a navigable channel near the present Puʻuloa saltworks, by which he made the estuary, known as "Pearl River", accessible to navigation. Making due allowance for legendary amplification, the estuary already had an outlet for its waters where the present gap is; but Keaunui is typically given the credit for widening and deepening it. During

1053-627: The inner harbor. The United States and the Hawaiian Kingdom signed the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 as supplemented by Convention on December 6, 1884. This treaty was ratified in 1887. On January 20, 1887, the United States Senate allowed the Navy the exclusive right to maintain a coaling and repair station at Pearl Harbor. (The US took possession on November 9 that year). The Spanish–American War of 1898 and

1092-540: The islands and to the mainland aboard U.S. warships were arranged for members of the Hawaiian royal family and important island government officials. When King Lunalilo died in 1873, negotiations were underway for the cession of Pearl Harbor as a port for the duty-free export of sugar to the U.S. With the election of King Kalākaua in March 1874, a riot prompted landing of sailors from USS Tuscarora and Portsmouth . The British warship, HMS  Tenedos , also landed

1131-626: The islands, "a locality of great and increasing interest and importance". This vessel surveyed the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands toward Japan. As a result, the United States claimed Midway Island . The Secretary of the Navy was able to write in his annual report of 1868, that in November 1867, 42 American flags flew over whaleships and merchant vessels in Honolulu to only six of other nations. This increased activity caused

1170-416: The loan was a personal one. Pan American had been the lowest bidder for a contract to build and fill crude oil storage facilities at Pearl Harbor , and had offered to undertake this contract in exchange for the oilfield lease, being paid in oil and then paying royalties to the government for oil extracted in excess of costs. Eventually the Supreme Court nullified both leases. It was not until 1930 that Doheny

1209-417: The mountain snowpack . The Mimbres Mountains, the southernmost part of the range, are usually included as part of the Black Range. Access to the range is primarily via New Mexico State Road 152 (NM 152), which crosses the Black Range on its way from Kingston on the east towards San Lorenzo on the west. NM 152 crosses the range at 8,228-foot (2,508 m) Emory Pass, where there is a hiking trail that covers

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1248-689: The next fourteen years the well produced over 57 million barrels. The Mexican Petroleum Company eventually acquired ownership or leasehold rights to 1,500,000 acres (610,000 ha) of land. The Pan American Petroleum and Transport Company was incorporated by Doheny in Delaware in 1916 as the holding company for his Mexican Petroleum Company , Huasteca Petroleum Company and California oil properties. World War I drove up demand for oil-fueled transport, and Doheny responded by expanding pumps, tanks and loading sites in Tampico. By July 1917 Pan American had

1287-634: The permanent assignment of at least one warship to Hawaiian waters. It also praised Midway Island as possessing a harbor surpassing Honolulu's. In the following year, Congress approved an appropriation of $ 50,000 on March 1, 1869, to deepen the approaches to this harbor. After 1868, when the Commander of the Pacific Fleet visited the islands to look after American interests, naval officers played an important role in internal affairs. They served as arbitrators in business disputes, negotiators of trade agreements and defenders of law and order. Periodic voyages among

1326-469: The relations of the island nation with foreign powers. In 1841, the newspaper Polynesian , printed in Honolulu, advocated that the U.S. establish a naval base in Hawaii for the protection of American citizens engaged in the whaling industry. The British Hawaiian Minister of Foreign Affairs Robert Crichton Wyllie , remarked in 1840 that, "... my opinion is that the tide of events rushes on to annexation to

1365-514: Was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 . Much of the harbor and surrounding lands are now a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the United States Pacific Fleet . The U.S. government first obtained exclusive use of the inlet and the right to maintain a repair and coaling station for ships here in 1887. The surprise attack on

1404-485: Was also interested in plans to develop the oil industry in Venezuela, and in building a pipeline from Colombia to Venezuela to make it more economical to export the Barco oil production from the west coast of Lake Maracaibo . In 1921 Pan American was the largest oil company in the United States, ahead of Sinclair Consolidated Oil Corporation and the Standard Oil Company of Indiana . Automobile production

1443-680: Was booming and oil prices were high. The Mexican Petroleum Company was the largest in Mexico, and Mexico was the largest oil producer in the world. In 1922 Albert B. Fall , U.S. Secretary of the Interior, leased the oil field at Elk Hills, California, to the Pan American Petroleum & Transport Company. Around the same time, the Teapot Dome Field in Wyoming was leased to Sinclair Consolidated Oil Corporation. Both oilfields were part of

1482-533: Was charged that they had deprived Pan American of profitable opportunities to drill and refine oil. The majority finding, setting an important precedent, was that it should be assumed that they had acted in good faith and without personal gains to themselves. In 1954 Pan American merged with Standard of Indiana to form the American Oil Company, Amoco . Amoco was in turn acquired by BP in 1998. The novel Oil! by Upton Sinclair published in 1927

1521-495: Was cleared of all charges. In 1923 Louis Blaustein and his son Jacob Blaustein sold a half interest in their American Oil Company to Pan American in exchange for a guaranteed supply of oil. Before this deal, American Oil had depended on Standard Oil of New Jersey , a competitor, for its supplies. At the end of 1923 Pan American had a net worth of $ 173 million, with net earnings that year of over $ 20 million. The company paid dividends of $ 20.4 million that year. On 1 April 1925

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