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 The
Early Years
In 1961, Charles Schusterman partnered with his brother, Dan Schusterman,
to form S&S Pipe and Supply Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
It was just the beginning of his career in the oil and gas business.
In 1961, he added an operating division to S&S Pipe and Supply
called Schusterman Oil Company. He kicked off a methodical
program of evaluating, purchasing, and reworking marginal producing
properties.
Oil consumption in the United States hit an all time high in
the early 1970's. Cheap oil boosted the nation's economy tremendously
and the result rippled inward to Oklahoma.
On November 23, 1971, Charles created Samson Resources Company
to assume operations of newly acquired Amerada Hess properties,
located in California.
Building a Base
Following the 1973 crude oil price increases, Charles deployed
rising cash flow to make new acquisitions -- mainly, and began a more active drilling effort.
 To minimize drilling risk, Charles and his team fine-tuned the
art and science of close-in drilling on farm-outs. They acquired
leases based upon a detailed analysis of the surrounding production.
This lower-risk drilling approach served our company well for
years to come.
Charles began noticing the negative effect political whims had
on the global crude oil markets. He also noted the rising spread
between supply and demand for natural gas in the mid-1970s. It
was at this time that he made a fundamental shift in the asset
focus of Samson from crude oil to natural gas. His decision to
pursue the natural gas market fueled our company's expansive and
profitable growth, even to this day.
The 1980's represented a tumultuous time for the United States
energy industry, low pricing, natural gas contract issues, high
drilling costs, and weakened demand caused many companies to fail.
We focused on improving our financial structure and by the mid-1980's,
the Company was in a position to take advantage of the many investment
opportunities in the oil patch.
The New Frontier
By the late 1980's, cash flow from core domestic activity positioned
us to explore areas beyond U.S. borders. First we expanded
north into Canada then Russia, and eventually into Venezuela.
Our first international investment occurred in 1989. It took
place in the province of Alberta, the heart of the prolific Western
Canadian Sedimentary Basin. In 1994, we invested in the Komi Republic of Russia. In 1995, we expanded into the Maracaibo Basin in Venezuela. As part of a portfolio rebalancing, these international assets were sold during 2004-2008.
The Age of Acquisition
The 1980's and 1990's saw domestic and international acquisitions
of all sizes and scopes. At one point in the 1990's, we were closing
several deals every month. Today, with an even larger asset
base, our challenge of finding opportunities for profitable growth
remains ever present.
New Focus on Exploration
It has become apparent that new opportunities are required for
continued growth. While development drilling and acquisitions
continue to be mainstays for us, exploratory drilling has become
a necessary and appropriate ingredient. Although there is higher
risk involved with exploratory drilling, there is also higher
return potential.
To successfully implement this dramatic increase in both development and exploratory drilling, Samson has made significant investments in people, training, data and technology. Our
skilled professionals have access to the latest in hardware, software,
and sophisticated databases designed specifically for:
- Reservoir stimulation
- Nodal analysis
- Casing and tubing design
- Fracture stimulation design
- Economic analysis
Today, our development and exploration drilling programs have
expanded. As part of this expansion, new offices have been opened
in Houston, Texas; Denver, Colorado; and Midland, Texas.
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