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The Geophysics Department of Humble Oil and Refining Company (1924–1945)

Editor's note: Historical Perspective is a new feature to accommodate unsolicited articles that deal with historical records and personal perspectives of early geophysics. These invaluable documents are usually written in styles of their own that would often require extensive editing, reorganization, and/or fact verification to suit TLE standards—a process which could, in turn, rob them of their patina and even historical value. To differentiate them from Profiles, Mentoring, and other regular TLE human interest articles, and acknowledge their unique status as historical documents is the reason the Editorial Board has created this new feature. Here, these unsolicited and sometimes unorthodox contributions can be published with only the most essential of microedits and abridgements. This column is based on a document authored by D. P. Carlton in February 1946 and submitted to TLE by Thomas Barrow.

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

L. F. Garrett made the first proposal to use refraction seismograph surveys for finding structures in the Gulf Coast of Texas, according to E. DeGolyer, in 1905 or 1906. He and Robert Welch tried to obtain seismograph equipment but gave up the idea because of the expense and the fact that no suitable instruments were available. The first trail of any geophysical method was made in 1922 when the Rycade Oil Co., using a torsion balance, completed a gravity survey of the Spindle Top salt dome in Jefferson County, Texas. The first seismograph crew with German equipment and personnel came to Texas in 1924 from Seismos, Ludger Mintrop's company. They were under contract to the Marland Oil Co. Shortly a similar Seismos crew went to work for the Gulf Production Co.

Early in 1924, Wallace Pratt, chief geologist of the Humble Oil and Refining Co., was convinced that geophysical methods were based on real scientific principles; that in order to keep pace with the industry, Humble should investigate and develop the science. To initiate this project, Norman Ricker, a physicist from Humble's refinery at Baytown, Texas, was brought to Houston in June 1924, and transferred to the geological department. He was the first employee and eventual leader of the nucleus of a small group employed to work in geophysics. The purpose of this small organization was to study geophysical methods and their application to the problem of finding oil; to choose the most promising methods; to develop or purchase instruments to conduct the surveys; and to interpret the data. Pratt insisted that the group must be as self-sufficient as possible and never should be dependent on others outside the Humble organization.

Before the end of 1924, Ricker and his five associates recommended that Humble use torsion balances and the refraction . . . [Full Text of this Article]