AHJ_ah09273 Inventory of the James E. Wilson papers 1955-1983 Wilson (James E.) papers Processed by Ronda Frazier The creation of the EAD-version of this finding aid was made possible through a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission. University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
American Heritage Center Dept. 3924, 1000 E. University Avenue University of Wyoming Laramie, WY 82071 Phone: 307.766.2574 Fax:307.766.5511 Email:ahcref@uwyo.edu URL:http://ahc.uwyo.edu/
2006

University of Wyoming

 Finding aid encoded by Ann Mulfort March 2006 Finding aid is in English Collection Summary Wilson, James E., geologist James E. Wilson papers 1955-1983 09273 1.4 cubic ft. (3 document boxes) University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center. English 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. Biography of James E. Wilson

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.

 Scope and Content

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.”

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

 Copyright Information

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

 Related Materials

There are no other known archival collections created by James E. Wilson at the date of processing.

 Acquisition Information

James E. Wilson donated his papers to the American Heritage Center in 1986 and 1987.

 Processing Information

The collection was processed by Ronda Frazier in July 2003.

 Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, James E. Wilson papers, 1955-1983, Collection Number 09273, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

 Access Terms Shell Oil Company. Petroleum--Prospecting--United States. Offshore oil industry--United States. Energy Production. Businesses and Corporations. Speeches. Geologists. <?xm-replace_text {Title as Subject}?> Container List Series I. Clippings 1 1 Biographical 1959-1973 1 2 Other 1971-1982 Series II. Correspondence 1 3 American Association of Petroleum Geologists (A.A.P.G.) 1958-1975 1 4 Community and Charitable Activities 1959-1966 1 5 Congratulatory Letters on Being Promoted to V.P. of Shell Oil Co. 1959-1960 1 6 Patents for Inventions 1955 1 7-9 Personal 1957-1984 1 10 Political 1957-1969 1 11 Recreational/Sporting Activities 1959-1966 2 1-2 Shell Oil Company 1957-1973 2 3 Thank You Letters 1959-1964 2 4 Transfer to New Orleans 1962 Series III. Speeches, Lectures, and Published Material 2 5 Bryans Mill Field, Cass County, Texas March 16, 1961

Presentation with visuals, presented to Cass County Chamber of Commerce

 2 6 Can You Sell an Empty Barrel? September 18, 1972

Presented to the Colorado Petroleum Marketers Association

 2 7 Catalog to Speeches, Lectures and Published Material 2 8 Deep is the Word For Tomorrow’s Oil April 10, 1973

Presented to American Petroleum Institute, Division of Production, Meeting, Denver, Colorado

 2 9 Do Look Now: Your Energy Slip is Showing April 25, 1972

Presented to Lions Club of Denver, Colorado

 2 10 Draft Environmental Statement: Proposed OCS Lease Sale, December 1972 August 23, 1972

Statement in New Orleans, Louisiana

 2 11 The East Coast: Front or Frontier June 1974

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

 2 12 Economics of Domestic Exploration April 11, 1973

Lecture to Petroleum, Economics and Management course at Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois

 2 13 Economics of Offshore Exploration and Production January 22, 1971

Presented to Offshore Symposium, A.A.P.G. Convention, Dallas, Texas, April 15, 1969 and to RMAG Luncheon, Petroleum Club, Denver, Colorado

 2 14 Economics of Offshore Louisiana September 12, 1967

Presented to Louisiana-Arkansas Division, Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association Annual Meeting

 2 15 The Energy Situation: An Overview September 22, 1972

Presented to Rocky Mountain Regional Meeting, Natural Gas Processors Association

 2 16 Exploration: A Game of Chance and Change March 1973

Presented to 13th Annual Institute on Petroleum Exploration and Economics, Southwestern Legal Foundation

 2 17 Frontiers of Petroleum Exploration January 19, 1973

Lecture notes for Short Course – Advanced Petroleum Geology, University of Tulsa

 2 18 General Attorney’s Meeting August 1969

Notes for talk in Colorado Springs, Colorado

 2 19 The Genetics of an Explorationist November 27, 1972

Presented to the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, 42nd Annual International Meeting, Anaheim, California

 2 20 The Hardware, Software, Wonderwhere of Future Exploration October 29, 1976

Article for International Petroleum Encyclopedia

 2 21 Hydrocarbon Potential of the Dead Sea Rift Valley June 1983

Oral paper with photographs presented to A.A.P.G. Convention, Dallas, Texas, April 18, 1983, and published in Oil and Gas Journal

 2 22 Is the National Origin of the Oil We Burn Important? March 1973

Presented to Northern Texas Oil and Gas Association, 43rd Annual Meeting, Wichita Falls, Texas

 2 23 ‘Model’ Offshore Operations Correct General Public’s ‘Great Wealth’ Image July 1971

Article published in World Oil

 3 1 National Fuels and Energy Policy Study August 8, 1972

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

 3 2 Needed: A Scientific Love-In March 1973

Abstract of address to Midwestern Societies S.E.G. and Southwest Section, A.A.P.G. meeting “Exploration Challenges of the Seventies”

 3 3 Needed: Barrels in Fact, Not Merely Gleams of Hope April 1972

Editorial published in World Oil

 3 4 Offshore Louisiana as Case Example of Investment of Technical and Financial Resources in Offshore Exploration and Production April 25, 1966

Presented to Brookings Institute for Federal Executives

 3 5 Offshore Operations Presentation for Public Land Law Review Commission New Orleans meeting May 26, 1967 3 6 Offshore Risks October 11, 1966

Panel Discussion, American Society for Oceanography

 3 7 The Parable of the Pea Patch May 1970, August 1969

Article published in Shell’s, The Echo, March 1970, and Western Oil Reporter

 3 8 Person Field, Karnes County, Texas 1961

Presentation with visuals, Chamber of Commerce Meeting, Kenedy, Texas

 3 9 Please Do Look, Lady, Your Energy Slip is Showing April 5, 1977

Presented to Ladies Energy Awareness Symposium, Keystone, Colorado

 3 10 Politics, Exploration and You January 23, 1973

Presented to West Texas Geological Society, Midland, Texas

 3 11 Potential Reserves of Domestic Oil and Gas February 1974

Article published in Journal of Petroleum Technology

 3 12 Price and Pride: They Go Together February-March 1973

Presented to Rocky Mountain Section, A.A.P.G./S.E.P.M. Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, Utah

 3 13 The Road Ahead June 1973

“The President’s Page” in A.A.P.G. Bulletin

 3 14 The Road Ahead in Petroleum Exploration: Where Does it Go? November 8, 1972

Presented in Washington, D.C.

 3 15 The Road Ahead: Where Does it Lead? December 5, 1972

Abstract in Nogs Fog, newsletter of the New Orleans Geological Society, November 6, 1972 and Presented to Tulsa Geological Society

 3 16 Selection of Management Personnel From Engineering Ranks October 8, 1963

Presented to Society of Petroleum Engineers/A.I.M.E., New Orleans, Louisiana

 3 17 Shadrach, Spindletop and the Offshore March 24, 1964

Presented to American Gas Association, General Management Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana

 3 18 Shell Oil Company’s Southeastern Regional Management Course October 15, 1967

Lecture, Biloxi, Mississippi

 3 19 Software, Hardware, Wonderwhere May 14, 1973

Presidential Address to A.A.P.G. Annual Convention, Anaheim, California

 3 20 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, Colorado June 4, 1977 3 21 The ‘Tommy Atkins’ Theory 1973

Editorial published in Pacific Petroleum Geologist

 3 22 Training Engineers for Management Responsibilities February 16, 1965

Presented to A.I.M.E. Engineering Management Committee, Chicago, Illinois

 3 23 What Are Our Energy Options? October 11, 1976

Lecture, Northern Illinois University, De Kalb, Illinois

 3 24 Where Will the Class of ’83 Rig Up? September 28, 1973

Presented to International Association of Drilling Contractors, Houston, Texas

 3 25 Whose Barrel is Getting Kicked? 1969

Presented to Montana Petroleum Association Annual Convention, Billings, Montana

 3 26 Will the Key Fit the Lock? October 12, 1972

Keynote address to Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies 22nd Annual Meeting

 3 27 Yes, Virginia, There is an Energy Gap October 30, 1974

Presented to Sweet Briar College Symposium “Energy and the Nation,” Sweet Briar, Virginia