VOL. XXXXV No. 1 First Quarter 2017 . r n J e o , n The Petroleum Hall of Fame is s r e p u n a o dedicated to those who cherished m h b o S h w c T e the freedom to dare, and whose M o M . e l . B work and service helped develop C W h s s p e ti the Permian Basin. e r s m u o a J J C Three to Join Petroleum Hall of Fame hree pioneering Permian Basin oil men will Mewbourne lives in Tyler and is commited to children and ed - be joining 142 other members of the Petro - ucation. He provided funding for the Mewbourne Hall of Mathe - leum Hall of Fame during the induction cere - matics and Science at All Saints Episcopal School in Tyler and at St. mony on Tuesday, May 9, at the Petroleum John’s School in Houston. He has endowed seven Mewbourne Club. The Class of 2017 includes Joseph B. Chairs in Petroleum Engineering at OU, as well as the Mewbourne TMcShane, Jr., Curtis W. Mewbourne and James Cleo Thompson. Professorship in Petroleum Engineering. Mewbourne Oil Co. is the JOE MCSHANE was born in San Antonio in 1929, attended Trin - largest supporter of student scholarships and internships over the ity University and then the University of Texas, graduating with a past 25 years at OU. bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering in 1952. He moved to JAMES CLEO THOMPSON was born in 1930 in Dallas. In 1948 West Texas where he spent his career in the petroleum industry, he entered Southern Methodist University where he studied engi - primarily in waterflood development in the Permian Basin. He neering and geology. He planned to enter law school in 1952 but worked for several major oil companies, including Forest Oil and he and his father purchased 12 oil wells near Crane. Thompson was Signal Oil and Gas. In 1959, he formed the partnership Wood and sent to get the wells back into production and his fascination with McShane with B. Oliver Wood. Four years later the two men joined the people, the business and the values of the oil industry began. with W.H. Thams, a Midland geologist, to form Wood, McShane and More leases were acquired and an office was opened in Crane. In Thams. This firm acquired, developed and operated a number of 1960 when the Thompsons began drilling near Odessa, the office properties. was moved to Odessa. McShane was a pioneer in drilling coal bed methane wells into Since 1952, Thompson has been responsible for the discovery, coal formations in the Raton Basin. In the early 1990s he drilled development and unitization of such fields as the Hoban, West several deep exploration wells in Martin, Midland and Andrews Means, Furman Mascho, University 29, University 21, Slaughter, counties based on emerging 3-D seismic technology. Levelland Cowden South and many more. Today, the company op - CURTIS W. MEWBOURNE was born in 1935 in Shreveport, erates more than 925 wells and has interests in about 9,000 wells, Louisiana. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a most of which are in the Permian Basin. He was one of the first op - degree in petroleum engineering and in 1965 he founded Mew - erators to sand frac and to use rubber balls for diversion back in the bourne Oil Company. The company has drilled more than 1,000 early 1950s. In the late 1980s he was one of the smaller independ - wells in the Permian Basin and 1,400 wells in the Anadarko Basin. ents to use 3-D seismic. His commitment and innovation have led to the discovery of multi - Thompson, who died in 2010, was known as an old-school ple new resource opportunities. wildcatter who believed that a handshake sealed the deal. For information on sponsorships/tickets, contact: Luanne Thornton, 432-683-4403 or [email protected] Follow Us: Energy Speaker Dr. Gibbs to Highlight Event MC Energy Leaders & Museum Energy Circle Members Thursday, May 11 Midland College Midland College Energy Leaders and the Petroleum Museum’s Energy Circle members will have the opportunity to hear Dr. Sam G. Gibbs speak at Midland College on Thursday, May 11. The series is 2017 Board open to Midland College students and members of the Energy Leaders and the Energy Circle groups. of Trustees Dr. Gibbs obtained his Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering and his Master of Science in mathematics from Texas A&M University. While work - ing for Shell’s Research facility in Houston, he earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Rice University. Recognizing the need for improvement in Mark Philpy sucker rod pumping technology, he developed, and Shell patented, a mathe - President matical method for analyzing rod pumping operations using the wave equation. Richard E. Booth He is responsible for the invention of the SAM Well Manager, the most popular Vice President pump off control (POC) in the world today. Alan Krenek Dr. Gibbs remains active in the petroleum industry as he continues to de - Treasurer velop new technology for the petroleum industry. Dr. Gibbs is an inspiration to Billy W. Harris Dr. Sam G. Gibbs industry professionals as well as students, and you won’t want to miss this op - Secretary portunity to hear him discuss his work and his hopes and challenges for the next generation. E. Earl Baldridge, III For more information about this event, please call Carey Behrends at the Museum, 432-683- S. Clay Bomer 4403. To find out more about becoming a Petroleum Museum Energy Circle member, call Luanne Kline Boyd Thornton at the Museum, 432-683-4403 or go to our website, pbpetro.org, click on Membership and Mark Carr go to Contributing Members for information on joining the Energy Circle. Joseph de Compiegne Nick Fowler Clint Hurt Chris Lewicki Topic: Asteroid Mining John L. Kennedy Sally Kvasnicka Joe Liberty Arlen Edgar Distinguished Lecture Series Taylor Mayne Thursday, April 13 Free Admission Donny McClure The Petroleum Museum will host Chris Lewicki, Planetary Resources President and CEO, at the Toby Payne next Arlen Edgar Distinguished Lecture on Thursday, April 13. Will Porter Chris Lewicki serves as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Planetary Resources, Inc. and Doug Schmidt has served as its Chief Engineer. He has been closely involved with the life cycle of NASA’s Mars Explo - ration Rovers and the Phoenix Clint Walker Mars Lander. He performed Jim Woodcock system engineering develop - Max Wright ment and participated in as - sembly, test and launch operations for both Mars mis - sions. He was also Flight Direc - tor for the rovers “Spirit” and Permian Basin “Opportunity,” and the Surface Petroleum Museum, Mission Manager for Library and “Phoenix.” The recipient of two NASA Exceptional Achievement Medals, Lewicki has an asteroid Hall of Fame named in his honor: 13609 Lewicki. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aerospace engineer - ...exploration, ing from the University of Arizona. innovations Planetary Resources, Inc. is an American company whose goal is to "expand Earth's natural re - and legends... source base" by developing and deploying the technologies for asteroid mining. Chunks of primitive rocky bodies orbit relatively close to Earth. Planetary Resources developed sensors to scan these as - teroids for water, carbon, metals and other resources that can be used in space to refuel rockets, con - struct equipment and other projects. Planetary Resources is to launch its first commercial asteroid prospecting mission by 2020. Museum Members will have an exclusive opportunity to meet Chris Lewicki between 6:30 and 7 p.m. (before his program). The auditorium doors will open at 6:45 p.m. for general admission, and the program will start at 7 p.m. Admission is free; reservations are requested. The Arlen Edgar Distin - guished Lecture Series is generously sponsored by the Abell-Hanger Foundation. Museum Bits & Bytes | First Quarter | Page 2 Special Venue Looking for Unusual Event Location? From corporate team-building meetings or board meetings to private parties and intimate cocktail receptions, the Petroleum Museum is a unique venue that can make your event truly unforgettable. Several options throughout the museum are available depending on the size of your event. The auditorium is the perfect setting for company training sessions or large dinner parties. Consider renting the entire museum for an very spe - cial evening. The Oil Patch has had additional exterior lighting installed and is available for grand outdoor events. A casual event or an intimate dinner can take place in the café and on the terrace, overlooking the oil patch. Consider a cozy setting in the spectacular mineral gallery or an elite setting in the beautiful marine diorama. Options are limited only by your imagination. Daytime and evening rentals are available. Contact Carey Behrends, 432-683-4403, to discuss your opportunities. Mineral Gallery Texas Home to Valuable Topaz Topaz is one of the most valued semi-precious gemstones in the world…and it is the Texas state gemstone! Blue topaz was adopted as the state’s gemstone in 1969. Texas topaz is usu - ally colorless to white, though some of the most beautiful and startling gemstones are in the light-blue to sky-blue range. In color, size and clarity, Texas topaz is considered among the best in the United States. Naturally occurring blue topaz is actually quite rare and can be found only in the Texas Hill Country in Mason. It was first recognized in Mason County in 1904. Old-timers remember stumbling onto the quartz-like gemstones while searching creek beds for arrowheads. Some - times the stones were so big they could be used as doorstops.