Historic Midland

HANLEY
PETROLEUM
INC.
❖
Top: This early-day photo shows
Hanley employees Joe Loftin,
Frank Forsyth, Leonard Telford, Mr.
W. L. Hanley (in suit and hat), and
Troy Compton.
Bottom: This photo, taken at the time
of the October 1997 board meeting,
shows Hanley officers and directors
Steve Castle, Rick Barry, Dick Leahy,
Jim Bird, Sr., Lee Hanley, Jarvis Slade,
and Nick Carducci.
The founding father of Hanley Petroleum
Inc., William Hanley, originally started as a
brick manufacturer eventually working his way
into the oil and gas business. William Hanley,
born in 1844 in Canada, immigrated to
Bradford, Pennsylvania in 1878. The town of
Bradford was situated in the heart of one of the
original oil patches in the United States.
Coincidentally, Mr. Hanley needed natural gas
to fire the kilns used to manufacture his bricks.
So he worked himself into the gas business to
take care of needs in the brick factory.
The family brick business continued to
thrive, particularly during the period after
WWII when a great deal of construction in the
United States was underway. By this time the
founder’s son, W.L. Hanley was running the
business. Mr. Hanley was also very interested
and curious about the exciting oil and gas business
in West Texas.
Hanley’s son-in-law, Dick Barry, was doing
some research into a pattern developing in the
Spraberry field southeast of Midland where
drilling costs were low and many large discoveries
were taking place. Hanley did a farmout and
drilled its first well in the early 1950’s. They were
successful and the company has continued to
grow and build in the Spraberry Trend area ever
since. By the mid-1960’s, Hanley had moved
from a core business of brick manufacturer to
predominantly the oil and gas business. In the
mid-1980’s, the company sold its last brick plant.
Hanley liked the results of the Spraberry drilling
and now the company, almost 50 years later, is
strategically located in the Spraberry Trend and
other fields in the Permian Basin, and operates
out of its headquarters in Midland, Texas.
Now in the third generation of Hanleys, W.L.
Hanley, Jr., is the chairman of the board and his
nephew, Rick Barry, (son of the first president,
Dick Barry), serves on the board of directors.
Steve Castle, president, oversees all operations.
Today, Hanley Petroleum operates about 300
wells, and has an interest in thousands of wells
that others operate. The company’s core operating
area is West Texas and Southeastern
New Mexico, and is expanding to other areas,
both domestically and internationally.
Hanley remains privately held by the Hanley
family. The company is a close knit one with
24 full-time employees and many contract
employees from pumpers, geologists, accountants
to lawyers.
90 ✦ HISTORIC MIDLAND