
In 1901, workers at Spindletop in Texas struck oil at roughly 340 metres and could not cap the well for nine days as it spewed an estimated 100,000 barrels a day, more than every other producing well in the United States combined, and helped launch the age of cheap petroleum
On January 10, 1901, the Lucas well at Spindletop erupted with an estimated 100,000 barrels a day — more than every other producing well in the United States combined — and collapsed the price of crude by 87 percent, ending the whale-oil economy in a matter of months.












