Water Rails & Oil - Historic Mid & South Jefferson County
An illustrated history of the Mid and South Jefferson County area, paired with the histories of companies, families and organizations that make the region great.
An illustrated history of the Mid and South Jefferson County area, paired with the histories of companies, families and organizations that make the region great.
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
MOTIVA<br />
ENTERPRISES<br />
LLC<br />
The Port Arthur Works was a direct<br />
byproduct of the January 10, 1901, Lucas<br />
gusher and the resulting Spindletop oil boom in<br />
Beaumont, Texas.<br />
The Texas Fuel Company was started by<br />
Joseph Cullinan and Arnold Schlaet to sell<br />
Spindletop oil with additional investment from<br />
John W. (“Bet-a-Million”) Gates and others. The<br />
company went into business on January 2,<br />
1902. When it was decided to build a refinery,<br />
more investment was needed. In March 1902 a<br />
new corporation, named The Texas Company,<br />
took over the assets of The Texas Fuel Company<br />
valued at $1.25 million, and on April 7, 1902,<br />
The Texas Company was incorporated with a<br />
capitalization of $3 million.<br />
Construction of the new refinery at Port<br />
Arthur was started in November 1902. With the<br />
dramatic decline in Spindletop production in<br />
late 1902, most of the new company’s<br />
investment capital was risked drilling wells at<br />
Sour Lake and was rewarded with a gusher on<br />
January 8, 1903. The refinery was completed<br />
and started up on November 13, 1903.<br />
The bankrupt Port Neches refinery was<br />
purchased by The Texas Company in 1906 and<br />
restarted as an asphalt refinery. The Port Arthur<br />
Terminal, called “The Island,” had a canning<br />
plant to produce metal cans for filling with<br />
products from the refinery. Ships left the<br />
terminal carrying products bound for Europe,<br />
Africa, and the Far East.<br />
The Port Arthur Refinery played a major role<br />
in producing products for the war effort in<br />
World War II, with lube oil being one of the<br />
major products. In 1989 a joint venture with<br />
Saudi Refining, Inc., was formed which was<br />
called Star Enterprise. In 1998, Shell <strong>Oil</strong><br />
Company was brought into the joint venture<br />
under a new name, Motiva Enterprises LLC.<br />
Over the past two decades the refinery has<br />
been streamlined and modernized in an effort to<br />
make it a world-class refinery. A major focus<br />
was on producing lube base oils with new<br />
processes and units added. It is now the largest<br />
lube base oil producer in the world. A major<br />
investment project is being planned that will<br />
more than double the size of the refinery,<br />
making it the largest refinery in North America.<br />
Many construction jobs and additional<br />
permanent jobs will be created, which will<br />
provide a more stable local job market.<br />
Motiva stands committed to its employees<br />
and neighbors to provide quality of life<br />
opportunities in our community.<br />
Sharing the Heritage ✦ 87
Change language