From Spindletop to Shale: The Arc of Innovation in Texas Oil

Brandon Seale is an energy entrepreneur and historian who served as President of West Texas Gas Utility until its 2024 sale. A member of the Texas Business Leadership Council and Director of the Texas State Historical Association, he is also the creator of the popular podcasts A History of Oil in Mexico and A New History of Old Texas. Seale holds MBA and law degrees from the University of Texas, where he co-founded the Texas Journal of Oil, Gas, and Energy Law.

Jason P. Theriot is an author, historian, and consultant with a Ph.D. in history from the University of Houston and a journalism degree from Louisiana State University. A former Energy Policy Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School, he writes extensively on the history of energy, environment, and business along the Gulf Coast.

Paul N. Spellman is Professor Emeritus of History at Wharton County Junior College. A longtime scholar of Texas history, he is the author or editor of eight books and a member of both the Texas State Historical Association and the Western Writers of America.

Jeff Spencer is Vice President and charter member of the Petroleum History Institute and a geoscientist with Sentinel Energy, LLC, in Houston. He holds degrees in geology from the University of Cincinnati and the University of New Orleans and is the author of Texas Oil and Gas and Illinois Oil and Gas.