Description
Book SynopsisA petroleum geologist, Alan Cockrell provides an insider's account of the science of oil hunting, the political processes that help or hinder it, and the advances in technology that make it all possible. The book documents the ways in which wars, foreign competition, governmental regulation, and new business models affect oil exploration.
Trade ReviewDrilling Ahead is a highly accessible, often colorful, account of oil exploration and development in Mississippi, Alabama, and northwest Florida, in the post-World War II period." - Evan R. Ward,
The Journal of Southern History"
Drilling Ahead is a valuable addition to the history of the petroleum industry." - Diana Davids Hinton
Technology and Culture"This book is extremely informative and well researched. It also tells about the colorful characters who developed much of the oil and gas industry in the Southeast, especially Mississippi and Alabama. Chesley Pruet would be the most intriguing character of all, and he was well respected. In addition, this is a good read." - Robert Mosbacher, Mosbacher Energy, Inc. Secretary of Commerce, 1989-1992
"Alan Cockrell has captured the excitement of oil booms in the southeastern states which flourished during the last half of the twentieth century. A valuable history is preserved of key individuals and companies that drilled the hundreds of oil and gas wells in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida to bring new wealth to these states." - Dudley J. Hughes, author of
Oil in the Deep South: A History of the Oil Business in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, 1859-1945
