Oil and Gas History
Oil and Gas Have Shaped the County Since the 1930s
San Patricio County shifted from cattle and cotton to petroleum after oil was found near Sinton in 1935, and oil and gas are still part of the local economy today.
Plymouth Oil Company struck oil near Sinton on Easter Sunday, 1935. The discovery changed the county. By 1944, the county was producing nearly 10.9 million barrels of oil each year. A gas pipeline from nearby Refugio County had already been laid as early as 1926. The oil discovery brought new businesses, workers, and infrastructure to Sinton and the surrounding area.
Today the county still produces natural gas and petroleum. It also produces industrial sand and caliche.
If you buy rural land in San Patricio County, find out whether the seller is keeping the mineral rights or passing them to you. In Texas, the underground minerals can be owned separately from the surface land. This is called severed mineral rights. It is common in oil country. The Texas Railroad Commission regulates oil and gas activity across the state.
Source to confirm: TSHA Handbook — San Patricio County