88R15114 TBO-D
 
  By: Darby H.C.R. No. 68
 
 
 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
         WHEREAS, May 28, 2023, marks the 100th anniversary of the
  discovery of oil in Reagan County at the Santa Rita No. 1 oil well,
  an event that sparked a wave of exploration and development that
  would transform the Permian Basin into one of the most productive
  oil fields in the world; and
         WHEREAS, Santa Rita No. 1 is located on land in Reagan County
  that the State of Texas set aside for the support of public higher
  education in Texas, initially for The University of Texas System
  and later for The Texas A&M University System; the land was later
  leased to El Pasoans Frank T. Pickrell and Haymon Krupp, who
  solicited funding from investors to build a drilling operation; the
  first oil test on the Group No. 1 acreage was named after Santa
  Rita, the patron saint of impossible causes, and drilling commenced
  at the site on January 8, 1921; and
         WHEREAS, For 646 days, the cable-tool rig broke through the
  ground at a pace of under five feet per day, while a two-man crew
  bailed the hole; late on May 27, 1923, driller Carl Cromwell ordered
  the shutdown of the well when he saw gas bubbles escaping from the
  casinghead, a sign that they had struck oil; his suspicions were
  confirmed early the following day, when a fountain of oil erupted
  over the rig's derrick, covering a 250-yard area around the site;
  the news of the find soon spread to local residents and scouts from
  major oil companies, and continued exploration would reveal further
  oil reserves on the land; other spectacular oil discoveries
  throughout the region would follow, which would make the Permian
  Basin the epicenter of petroleum production in the United States
  for decades to come; and
         WHEREAS, In 1940, the Texas State Historical Association
  oversaw the relocation of the original Santa Rita rig to The
  University of Texas at Austin campus for preservation purposes; oil
  continued to be pumped from the Santa Rita well for nearly 67 years,
  before the well finally reached the end of its production life and
  was plugged in 1990; and
         WHEREAS, The discovery of oil at Santa Rita No. 1 had a
  profound and transformative impact on the State of Texas and on the
  higher education entities, The University of Texas System and later
  The Texas A&M University System, that shared in the benefit of the
  find, and the far-reaching effects of this watershed moment in
  Texas history continue to be seen to this day; now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas
  hereby commemorate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of oil at
  Santa Rita No. 1 and pay tribute to the well's historical
  significance and enduring legacy.