Big Energy: A Texas Tale of People Powering Progress, San Jacinto Monument, La Porte, Texas

San Jacinto Monument periodically hosts special exhibits. This exhibit is special for our son Josh as he used to work for Shell Oil Company, which has its hub in the Deer Park subdivision near Houston, Texas. The exhibit is about the impact oil and gas has had on Houston. Oil and gas, its production and its products, affect the lives of all Texans. The discovery of oil fields throughout the state in the early 20th century led to the founding and flourishing of numerous Texas towns and to the establishment of companies that would evolve into multinational conglomerates. It was along the Houston Ship Channel a commercial waterway that would become one of the busiest in the United States, that the town of Deer Park was founded just a few short miles from where Texas had won her independence from Mexico in 1836.

Tank Wagon

Since 1929, the history of Shell Oil and the city of Deer Park have been intertwined. The birthplace of Texas is now an energy hub, powering progress globally. Here we explore its rise and impact through the lens of the people, the city, and a company that call it home, as well as the legacy that the  manufacturing culture has on the community. Learn more about what goes on at a fully integrated refinery and chemical plant, and discover how progress will power the future. 

This tank wagon was used in the first quarter of the 20th century to deliver fuels, and could carry three different products in its three tanks. Oil wagons like this one picked up products such as kerosene, lubricating oil, fuel oil for heating, or gasoline at the refinery or railroad depot for delivery to the customer. Pulled by a two-horse or two-mule team, the wagon carried large cans hanging from the back. The driver would stop the wagon, fill a can from one of the three spigots, walk it to the home of the purchaser, and for heating oil, pour it down a tube to a storage tank.

In the United States, the bulk haulage of oil and refined products began with the horse-drawn tank wagon in about 1883 when Standard Oil of California began using tank wagons in the San Francisco area. They were soon used around the country where roads allowed. By 1910 the occasional motorized tank truck began to be noticed on the roads, becoming common by 1915. This tanker wagon was restored in 2017 by Texas Wagon Works of Gonzales, Texas, using hand tools of the type that would have been used at the time of the wagon's manufacture.

The Shell Pipe Line Corporation, established in 1919, began building its pipeline and pump station from McCamey, Texas, to Deer Park and construction on the Shell Houston Refinery began in 1928. 

A time line of the history of Deer Park and Shell Oil is as follows:

1845: Texas joins the United States as the 28th state
1885: First successful gasoline-powered motor car
1901: First oil gusher at Spindletop signals the Texas oil boom
1903: The Wright brothers fly the world's first successful powered                      airplane
1907: Royal Dutch Shell forms from the partnership of Royal Dutch & Shell Transport and Trading; Port of Houston dedicated
1912: Battleship Texas (BB-35) launches

1912: Shell began its operations in the United States

1914-1918: World War I
1918: The first refinery is built on the Houston Ship Channel

1920: Women won the right to vote in the United States

1912: Shell began its operations in the United States
1929: Shell Houston Refinery opens in Deer Park, and Shell Chemical Company forms in the United States; stock market crash signals the beginning of the Great Depression
1930: Deer Park establishes an independent school district
1933-1938: New Deal programs and reforms enacted in response to the Great Depression
1939: San Jacinto Monument, a New Deal project, opens
1939-1945: World War II; during World War II, women were hired in    great numbers at the Shell Houston plants to replace the men serving in the war

1941: Shell shares 100-octane technology to meet war plane fuel demand following U.S. entry into in WWII; Shell Houston Chemical Plant opens and brings online the first U.S. full-scale butadiene plant, creating synthetic rubber

1954: Civil Rights movement begins

1969: Moon landing "Houston ... the eagle has landed"

1970: Clean Air Act is passed to control air pollution on a national level
1973: Arab Oil Embargo causes demand for Texas oil to boom
1987: One in eight Houston jobs from five years earlier are lost
1993: Shell forms a joint venture with PEMEX, Mexico's state oil            company, to modernize the Shell Deer Park refinery and manufacture clean fuels
1995: Deer Park Education Foundation is founded
2005: Shell unifies under a single new holding company, Royal Dutch Shell PLC

Since its inception in 2009, the Strides for Schools Fun Run presented by Shell has raised more than $850,000 for education grants in Deer Park.

2017: Deer Park celebrates 125 years

Construction takes place on the cat-cracker

A new cat-cracker for Deer Park means the site can refine more heavy hydrocarbons. Fluid catalytic cracking is one of the most important conversion processes used in petroleum refineries. It is widely used to convert the high boiling, high-molecular weight hydrocarbon fractions of petroleum crude oils into more valuable gasoline, olefinic gases, and other products. Cracking of petroleum hydrocarbons was originally done by thermal cracking, which has been almost completely replaced by catalytic cracking because it produces more gasoline with a higher octane rating. It also produces byproduct gases that have more carbon-carbon double bonds (i.e., more olefins), and hence more economic value, than those produced by thermal cracking.

Shell Alky Unit

The birthplace of Texas is home to Shell's largest integrated refinery and petrochemical plant. Since the establishment of Shell in Deer Park in 1929, the company and city have grown up together and have forged a special bond that continues to this day. Through the years, the people of Deer Park powered progress locally by building a strong community and creating an environment for commerce to thrive on a global scale.

Price of Crude at Shell Deer Park over the years:

1930 ~ Price of a barrel of crude: $1.19

1956 ~ Deer Park Population: 736; price of barrel of crude: $2.94

1969 ~ Deer Park Population: 4,865; price of a barrel of crude: $3.32

2011 ~ Deer Park Population: 32,100; price of barrel of crude: $41.85

2015 ~ Deer Park Population: 32,100; price of barrel of crude: $41.85

Making sure there is enough energy for future generations has long been a part of the business at Shell. The approach is integrated across business activities on three levels:

On any given day, Shell Park produces ....

Energy plays a critical role in human progress. It keeps people moving and connects us. Energy takes us places and delivers products around the world. It is a key ingredient in countless things that we rely on every day ~~ from the materials our cities are made from, to the clothes on our backs, to the fuels that connect us.

To help safeguard the prosperity and well-being of future generations, the world must find ways to produce more and cleaner energy ... and use it better. At Shell, we support the global drive towards a sustainable future for all. We believe amazing things can happen when we come together.

Shell has been powering progress around the world for more than 100 years. And we want to continue to provide more energy and opportunities to enable vibrant economies and communities, responsibly delivering energy solutions that meet today's needs and tomorrow's expectations.

Jason in front of a shoe

In addition, over 45% of a wind turbine is made up of petrochemical-based material such as polyurethane. The 100-160 foot-long blades of a large wind turbine contain 27,000 pounds of petrochemical-based materials.

Also, over 50% of consumer electronics are made from petrochemicals, such as polycarbonates, styrene monomer and plastics, which help manufacturers design better products using less materials.