Goose Creek Oil Field
The Goose Creek Oil Field is a large oil field in Baytown, Texas, on Galveston Bay. Discovered in 1903, and reaching maximum production in 1918 after a series of spectacular gushers, it was one of the fields that contributed to the Texas Oil Boom of the early 20th century. The field was also the location of the first offshore wells in Texas, and the second group of offshore wells in the United States. Consequences of the development of the Goose Creek field included an economic boom and associated influx of workers, the founding and fast growth of Baytown, and the building of the adjacent Baytown Refinery, which is now the 2nd largest oil refinery in the United States with a capacity of 584,000 barrels per day. The field remains active, having produced over 150 million barrels (24,000,000 m3) of oil in its 100-year history.
The Goose Creek field is also the first place where subsidence of overlying terrain was attributed to the removal of oil from underneath. On the Goose Creek field, subsidence has damaged houses, roads, and businesses, and much of the oil field that was on land in the early years of its development is now submerged in Tabbs Bay. Subsidence-induced motion along faults on the field also caused the only earthquake of local origin ever felt in the Houston area.
The Goose Creek field is located along the northern shoreline of Tabbs Bay, an arm of Galveston Bay, at the point where Goose Creek exits to the sea. It is directly south of the city of Baytown, and about 25 miles (40 km) east of downtown Houston. Elevations on the field range from approximately 30 feet (9.1 m) at the highest well locations next to developed parts of Baytown, on the north side of the field, to submerged and partially submerged areas within Tabbs Bay itself. Much of the field is close to sea level. The total productive area of the field, including the submerged portion, is approximately 3,470 acres (14.0 km2).
Alexander Drive, a spur of Texas State Highway 146, runs through the field. West of Goose Creek it rejoins Highway 146 to go over Tabbs Bay on the Fred Hartman Bridge.
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