James E. Wilson papers, 1955-1983
Table of Contents
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Wilson, James E., geologist
- Title
- James E. Wilson papers
- Dates
- 1955-1983 (inclusive)19551983
- Quantity
- 1.4 cubic ft. (3 document boxes)
- Collection Number
- 09273
- Summary
- Clippings, correspondence, and speeches, lectures, and other published materials of this geological engineer whose entire career was spent with Shell Oil Company. Topics include offshore operations, petroleum exploration, and domestic energy policy.
- Repository
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American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
American Heritage Center
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Dept. 3924
Laramie, WY
82071
Telephone: 3077663756
ahcref@uwyo.edu - Access Restrictions
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Access Restrictions
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- The creation of the EAD-version of this finding aid was made possible through a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission.
Historical Note
James E. Wilson was born April 19, 1915 in McKinney, Texas. He entered Texas A&M University in 1933, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in geological engineering in 1938. Wilson joined Shell Oil Company in 1938 as a surface geologist, doing extensive field mapping and core drilling in southwest Texas and northern Louisiana until he was called to active duty in the U.S. Army in 1942.
He returned to Tyler, Texas and Shell in 1946 and later transferred to Houston, Wichita Falls, and Oklahoma City, holding staff and management positions. Next came an assignment to The Hague, Netherlands in 1952 with Royal Dutch/Shell. In 1953, he returned to the U.S. as division exploration manager in Casper, Wyoming, and moved to Denver, Colorado, the next year when he was named staff geologist in Shell’s new exploration office. He then became exploration manager and held this position until he moved to Houston, Texas in 1958 as director of exploration research for Shell Development Company. In 1960, at age 44, he was named vice president for exploration production in Houston, the first geologist and youngest vice president in the company’s history. He moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1962 and back to Denver in 1968 in the same capacity.
After retiring from Shell in 1973, Wilson began an active consulting career, both domestic and foreign, primarily for major industrial corporations. Later, he devoted his time to researching the geology of the wine country of France, which culminated in the publication of Terroir: The Role of Geology, Climate and Culture in the making of French Wines.
Wilson’s laurels include the Texas A&M Geosciences and Earth Resources Council’s medal for distinguished achievement, the American Association of Petroleum Geologist’s Sidney Powers Memorial Medal, AAPG’s highest award, and Distinguished Alumnus of A&M. He was AAPG president in 1972-1973 and trustee and chairman of the AAPG Foundation. His world travels included a 1972 trip to the western Pacific Rim, promoting the first Circum-Pacific energy minerals conference sponsored by AAPG, and in 1984, he led a delegation of petroleum geologists on a lecture tour of China.
Wilson was married to Alice Elloie Barklay, and they had two daughters, Judy and Elizabeth.
Content Description
The James E. Wilson papers contain news clippings, personal and professional correspondence, speeches, lectures, and other published materials. The speeches were presented to a myriad of organizations, petroleum related as well as other groups. The topics covered include offshore operations, petroleum exploration, and domestic energy policy. Published materials include articles and editorials published in various oil-related periodicals.
There are two patents awarded to Shell Development Company in 1955 for inventions naming Wilson as inventor along with B.O. Prescott. These were: “Method for Determining the Dip and Strike of Formations Traversed by a Borehole” and “Turning Tool for Whipstocks.”
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Use
Copyright InformationThe researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.
Preferred Citation
Preferred CitationItem Description, Box Number, Folder Number, James E. Wilson papers, 1955-1983, Collection Number 09273, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Administrative Information
Related Materials
Related MaterialsThere are no other known archival collections created by James E. Wilson at the date of processing.
Acquisition Information
Acquisition InformationJames E. Wilson donated his papers to the American Heritage Center in 1986 and 1987.
Processing Note
Processing InformationThe collection was processed by Ronda Frazier in July 2003.
Detailed Description of the Collection
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Series I. Clippings
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Description: BiographicalDates: 1959-1973Container: Box 1, Folder 1
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Description: OtherDates: 1971-1982Container: Box 1, Folder 2
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Series II. Correspondence
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Description: American Association of Petroleum Geologists (A.A.P.G.)Dates: 1958-1975Container: Box 1, Folder 3
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Description: Community and Charitable ActivitiesDates: 1959-1966Container: Box 1, Folder 4
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Description: Congratulatory Letters on Being Promoted to V.P. of Shell Oil Co.Dates: 1959-1960Container: Box 1, Folder 5
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Description: Patents for InventionsDates: 1955Container: Box 1, Folder 6
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Description: PersonalDates: 1957-1984Container: Box 1, Folders 7-9
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Description: PoliticalDates: 1957-1969Container: Box 1, Folder 10
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Description: Recreational/Sporting ActivitiesDates: 1959-1966Container: Box 1, Folder 11
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Description: Shell Oil CompanyDates: 1957-1973Container: Box 2, Folders 1-2
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Description: Thank You LettersDates: 1959-1964Container: Box 2, Folder 3
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Description: Transfer to New OrleansDates: 1962Container: Box 2, Folder 4
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Series III. Speeches, Lectures, and Published Material
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Description: Bryans Mill Field, Cass County, Texas
Presentation with visuals, presented to Cass County Chamber of Commerce
Dates: March 16, 1961Container: Box 2, Folder 5 -
Description: Can You Sell an Empty Barrel?
Presented to the Colorado Petroleum Marketers Association
Dates: September 18, 1972Container: Box 2, Folder 6 -
Description: Catalog to Speeches, Lectures and Published MaterialContainer: Box 2, Folder 7
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Description: Deep is the Word For Tomorrow’s Oil
Presented to American Petroleum Institute, Division of Production, Meeting, Denver, Colorado
Dates: April 10, 1973Container: Box 2, Folder 8 -
Description: Do Look Now: Your Energy Slip is Showing
Presented to Lions Club of Denver, Colorado
Dates: April 25, 1972Container: Box 2, Folder 9 -
Description: Draft Environmental Statement: Proposed OCS Lease Sale, December 1972
Statement in New Orleans, Louisiana
Dates: August 23, 1972Container: Box 2, Folder 10 -
Description: The East Coast: Front or Frontier
Remarks to East Coast Offshore Symposium “Baffin Bay to the Bahamas,” Atlantic City, New Jersey, April 24, 1973 and reprint in A.A.P.G. Bulletin
Dates: June 1974Container: Box 2, Folder 11 -
Description: Economics of Domestic Exploration
Lecture to Petroleum, Economics and Management course at Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
Dates: April 11, 1973Container: Box 2, Folder 12 -
Description: Economics of Offshore Exploration and Production
Presented to Offshore Symposium, A.A.P.G. Convention, Dallas, Texas, April 15, 1969 and to RMAG Luncheon, Petroleum Club, Denver, Colorado
Dates: January 22, 1971Container: Box 2, Folder 13 -
Description: Economics of Offshore Louisiana
Presented to Louisiana-Arkansas Division, Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association Annual Meeting
Dates: September 12, 1967Container: Box 2, Folder 14 -
Description: The Energy Situation: An Overview
Presented to Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting, Natural Gas Processors Association
Dates: September 22, 1972Container: Box 2, Folder 15 -
Description: Exploration: A Game of Chance and Change
Presented to 13th Annual Institute on Petroleum Exploration and Economics, Southwestern Legal Foundation
Dates: March 1973Container: Box 2, Folder 16 -
Description: Frontiers of Petroleum Exploration
Lecture notes for Short Course – Advanced Petroleum Geology, University of Tulsa
Dates: January 19, 1973Container: Box 2, Folder 17 -
Description: General Attorney’s Meeting
Notes for talk in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Dates: August 1969Container: Box 2, Folder 18 -
Description: The Genetics of an Explorationist
Presented to the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, 42nd Annual International Meeting, Anaheim, California
Dates: November 27, 1972Container: Box 2, Folder 19 -
Description: The Hardware, Software, Wonderwhere of Future Exploration
Article for International Petroleum Encyclopedia
Dates: October 29, 1976Container: Box 2, Folder 20 -
Description: Hydrocarbon Potential of the Dead Sea Rift Valley
Oral paper with photographs presented to A.A.P.G. Convention, Dallas, Texas, April 18, 1983, and published in Oil and Gas Journal
Dates: June 1983Container: Box 2, Folder 21 -
Description: Is the National Origin of the Oil We Burn Important?
Presented to Northern Texas Oil and Gas Association, 43rd Annual Meeting, Wichita Falls, Texas
Dates: March 1973Container: Box 2, Folder 22 -
Description: ‘Model’ Offshore Operations Correct General Public’s ‘Great Wealth’ Image
Article published in World Oil
Dates: July 1971Container: Box 2, Folder 23 -
Description: National Fuels and Energy Policy Study
Statement and background materials presented at hearing on the “Declining Trend in Oil and Gas Exploration” before the U.S. Senate Interior and Insular Affairs Committee
Dates: August 8, 1972Container: Box 3, Folder 1 -
Description: Needed: A Scientific Love-In
Abstract of address to Midwestern Societies S.E.G. and Southwest Section, A.A.P.G. meeting “Exploration Challenges of the Seventies”
Dates: March 1973Container: Box 3, Folder 2 -
Description: Needed: Barrels in Fact, Not Merely Gleams of Hope
Editorial published in World Oil
Dates: April 1972Container: Box 3, Folder 3 -
Description: Offshore Louisiana as Case Example of Investment of Technical and Financial Resources in Offshore Exploration and Production
Presented to Brookings Institute for Federal Executives
Dates: April 25, 1966Container: Box 3, Folder 4 -
Description: Offshore Operations Presentation for Public Land Law Review Commission New Orleans meetingDates: May 26, 1967Container: Box 3, Folder 5
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Description: Offshore Risks
Panel Discussion, American Society for Oceanography
Dates: October 11, 1966Container: Box 3, Folder 6 -
Description: The Parable of the Pea Patch
Article published in Shell’s, The Echo, March 1970, and Western Oil Reporter
Dates: May 1970, August 1969Container: Box 3, Folder 7 -
Description: Person Field, Karnes County, Texas
Presentation with visuals, Chamber of Commerce Meeting, Kenedy, Texas
Dates: 1961Container: Box 3, Folder 8 -
Description: Please Do Look, Lady, Your Energy Slip is Showing
Presented to Ladies Energy Awareness Symposium, Keystone, Colorado
Dates: April 5, 1977Container: Box 3, Folder 9 -
Description: Politics, Exploration and You
Presented to West Texas Geological Society, Midland, Texas
Dates: January 23, 1973Container: Box 3, Folder 10 -
Description: Potential Reserves of Domestic Oil and Gas
Article published in Journal of Petroleum Technology
Dates: February 1974Container: Box 3, Folder 11 -
Description: Price and Pride: They Go Together
Presented to Rocky Mountain Section, A.A.P.G./S.E.P.M. Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah
Dates: February-March 1973Container: Box 3, Folder 12 -
Description: The Road Ahead
“The President’s Page” in A.A.P.G. Bulletin
Dates: June 1973Container: Box 3, Folder 13 -
Description: The Road Ahead in Petroleum Exploration: Where Does it Go?
Presented in Washington, D.C.
Dates: November 8, 1972Container: Box 3, Folder 14 -
Description: The Road Ahead: Where Does it Lead?
Abstract in Nogs Fog, newsletter of the New Orleans Geological Society, November 6, 1972 and Presented to Tulsa Geological Society
Dates: December 5, 1972Container: Box 3, Folder 15 -
Description: Selection of Management Personnel From Engineering Ranks
Presented to Society of Petroleum Engineers/A.I.M.E., New Orleans, Louisiana
Dates: October 8, 1963Container: Box 3, Folder 16 -
Description: Shadrach, Spindletop and the Offshore
Presented to American Gas Association, General Management Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana
Dates: March 24, 1964Container: Box 3, Folder 17 -
Description: Shell Oil Company’s Southeastern Regional Management Course
Lecture, Biloxi, Mississippi
Dates: October 15, 1967Container: Box 3, Folder 18 -
Description: Software, Hardware, Wonderwhere
Presidential Address to A.A.P.G. Annual Convention, Anaheim, California
Dates: May 14, 1973Container: Box 3, Folder 19 -
Description: Statement to Subcommittee on General Oversight and Alaska Lands on H.R. 39 before House of Representatives Interior and Insular Affairs Committee hearings on H.R. 39, Denver, ColoradoDates: June 4, 1977Container: Box 3, Folder 20
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Description: The ‘Tommy Atkins’ Theory
Editorial published in Pacific Petroleum Geologist
Dates: 1973Container: Box 3, Folder 21 -
Description: Training Engineers for Management Responsibilities
Presented to A.I.M.E. Engineering Management Committee, Chicago, Illinois
Dates: February 16, 1965Container: Box 3, Folder 22 -
Description: What Are Our Energy Options?
Lecture, Northern Illinois University, De Kalb, Illinois
Dates: October 11, 1976Container: Box 3, Folder 23 -
Description: Where Will the Class of ’83 Rig Up?
Presented to International Association of Drilling Contractors, Houston, Texas
Dates: September 28, 1973Container: Box 3, Folder 24 -
Description: Whose Barrel is Getting Kicked?
Presented to Montana Petroleum Association Annual Convention, Billings, Montana
Dates: 1969Container: Box 3, Folder 25 -
Description: Will the Key Fit the Lock?
Keynote address to Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies 22nd Annual Meeting
Dates: October 12, 1972Container: Box 3, Folder 26 -
Description: Yes, Virginia, There is an Energy Gap
Presented to Sweet Briar College Symposium “Energy and the Nation,” Sweet Briar, Virginia
Dates: October 30, 1974Container: Box 3, Folder 27
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Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Offshore oil industry--United States.
- Petroleum--Prospecting--United States.
Corporate Names
- Shell Oil Company.
Form or Genre Terms
- Speeches.
Occupations
- Geologists.
