houston: the energy capital OF THE WORLD
The spectacular 1901 "Spindletop" gusher in Southeast Texas started Houston's steady march to becoming the "Energy Capital of the World." As Texas oil production grew exponentially, Houston added a ship channel to its infrastructure in 1914, positioning the then nearly landlocked city to take advantage of the dramatic shift in demand for petroleum-based fuels as the "horse-powered" buggies of old took a back seat to the horsepower of the internal combustion engine.
Today, every sector of the energy industry has a significant presence in Houston. Petroleum and petrochemical activities ranging from oil and gas research and development to gas station equipment manufacturing are here, resulting in a highly energy savvy workforce and wide ranging infrastructure. Most recently, the Houston area is experiencing significant growth in alternative and non-conventional energy activities as the world becomes increasingly concerned about and attentive to the carbon footprint left by fossil fuel-based energy use.
Energy Activities
- More than 3,600 energy-related concerns are located within the Houston Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area. These businesses and organizations include more than 550 exploration and production firms, more than 200 engaged in pipeline activities and hundreds of wholesalers and manufacturers of energy products.
- Houston is headquarters to 38 of the 138 publicly traded oil and gas exploration companies in the United States, including 11 of the top 25. Most of the remaining 14 have significant operations here.
- The Texas Gulf Coast Region has a crude operable capacity of 4.1 million barrels of refined petroleum products per day, which is 23.9 percent of the U.S. total.
- The Houston Gulf Coast Region is home to nearly 40 percent of the nation's petrochemical manufacturing capacity.
- The logistics of moving crude oil and products is in large part handled from Houston, where 13 of the nation's top 20 oil and gas pipeline companies have corporate or major offices, managing more than 50,000 miles of pipeline.
- Companies in Houston manage approximately half the oil and gas pipeline capacity in the United States.
- 16 of the nation's top 20 natural gas transmission companies are headquartered or have major offices here, representing approximately 63 percent of U.S. capacity.
- The Houston Metropolitan Statistical Area is the world's major employment center for energy-related jobs, including nearly 30 percent of the world's oil and gas extraction jobs.
- Nearly one half (48 percent) of the region's economic base employment is related to energy.
