The story of Hunt Oil Company spans much of the oil industry's colorful history. From H.L. Hunt's initial involvement in the Arkansas and East Texas oil boom of the 1920s, to its global presence today, Hunt Oil Company is known for discovering oil in places where others never thought to look.

H.L. Hunt, the company's legendary founder, was born on an Illinois farm in 1889. He left home at 15 and worked as a cowboy, a lumberjack and a laborer until he saved enough money to buy a relatively small cotton plantation in Arkansas in 1911.

Although subsequent floods and an agricultural depression caused this farming venture to fail, by 1921 H.L. Hunt had recouped enough capital to start anew, at the same time that oil was discovered in El Dorado, Arkansas. Quickly caught up in the "black gold" fever of that moment, the 32-year-old Hunt moved to El Dorado, where he began trading oil and gas leases. Soon he began his own drilling operations with increasing success.

In 1930, Hunt heard reports of a wildcat well being drilled in East Texas, a region not considered to be a prospective oil area. Curious, he traveled to Rusk County, Texas, where he met Columbus Marion "Dad" Joiner, the renowned wildcatter. Dad Joiner was then drilling the Daisy Bradford No. 3, the rank wildcat well that discovered the giant East Texas oil field which, with an estimated recovery of 6 billion barrels of oil, became the largest oil field in the world at that time.

Recognizing the significance of the East Texas discovery before the rest of the oil industry, H. L. Hunt moved quickly and took a significant risk by purchasing the Daisy Bradford No. 3 and nearby leases from Joiner. The Daisy Bradford No. 3 continues to produce to this day.

This East Texas field provided the financial base for the founding of Hunt Oil Company in 1934. In the decades since, the company has continued to discover and develop significant oil and gas fields, both onshore and offshore, in North America and around the world.

Following the death of H.L. Hunt in 1974, his youngest son, Ray, became Hunt Oil's Chairman. While continuing to grow the company's U.S. operations, Ray expanded the company's focus to include international exploration. New prospects were soon developed outside the United States that represented significant risk, but equally significant opportunity.

Hunt Oil's first important international success was achieved in 1976 with the company's participation in a major discovery in the North Sea, the Beatrice field. This discovery was considered important not because of its size, but because of its location - more than 129 kilometers (80 miles) away from the nearest oil production, and in an area of the North Sea that was believed to be nonproductive. Producing more than 177 million barrels of oil (of an estimated 495 million barrels), Beatrice was the first of many successes to come.

Encouraged by the North Sea discovery — the company found oil in an area others had passed over — Hunt Oil decided to further expand its search for new opportunities abroad. This led Hunt to the Republic of Yemen, an ancient nation with rugged geography believed by most to be devoid of oil, despite its location on the oil-rich Arabian Peninsula. In 1981, Hunt Oil Company signed a production sharing agreement with the government of Yemen and began operations.

The only active oil company in the region, Hunt discovered a major oil field in 1984. The company subsequently constructed a 423-kilometer (263-mile) pipeline across harsh mountains to the Red Sea, and Yemen joined the ranks of oil exporting countries reaching production levels in excess of 150,000 barrels per day. Large reserves of natural gas, estimated at 10 trillion cubic feet, have also been discovered.

In 2000, Hunt Oil Company successfully completed its acquisition of Newport Petroleum Corporation and combined its exploration team in Calgary with the Newport Group to form a new, privately held entity, Hunt Oil Company of Canada, Inc. In 2001, Hunt Oil Company had a second major acquisition, Chieftain International Inc., which increased our presence in the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf Coast.

Today, Hunt Oil Company of Canada's main focus is seeking quality drilling opportunities (operated and non-operated) in the Deep Basin of West-Central Alberta. Hunt Oil Company of Canada is known for excellent environmental standards and sustainable programs in the Deep Basin area.

In the United States, Hunt continues to explore for, develop and produce oil and natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf Coast, West Texas, North Louisiana and areas of the Rocky Mountains. Later in the decade, HOC adapted its exploration and development activities in the pursuit of new unconventional resource plays. This strategic change was made to take advantage of new technologies in horizontal drilling, and multi-stage hydraulic frac completions that have changed our industry. Hunt now has major exploration and development land position and projects in the Willison Basin (Bakken), Eagle Ford and the Marcellus plays. We also have a New Ventures Exploration team whose objective is to identify and gain early entry into new resource plays.

Hunt has maintained a presence in South America for many years.  A major step was taken in December, 2000 when the government of Peru awarded Hunt and its partners, Pluspetrol and S.K. Corporation, the contract to develop the upstream portion of one of South America's largest natural gas resources: Camisea.

Located in a remote area of Peru, Camisea contains in excess of 13 TCF of gas with significant associated liquids. With substantial excess gas beyond Peru's needs, Hunt and its consortium partners launched PERU LNG in June, 2010 to export LNG from Peru to worldwide markets.

PERU LNG is the first natural gas liquefaction plant in South America, and represents the largest investment in one single project ever made in Peru.  With nearly $4 billion (USD) invested, PERU LNG has played a major role in developing Peruvian natural resources for international markets.  In his address to the audience at the June, 2010 dedication, President Garcia said, “This is an international accomplishment and one that will have an impact on commerce and industry around the world.  Given the leadership and hard work of so many men and women who proudly call Peru their home, one can truly say that this is a project built by Peruvians for Peruvians.”

Hunt Oil Company remains one of the largest privately held independent oil companies in the world. The elements that contributed to our early successes still guide us today. We understand the importance of maintaining both flexibility and stability in today's business environment. We take pride in our reputation for honesty and integrity. We are a financially sound, privately held company with a team of highly competent and motivated individuals capable of conducting successful operations virtually anywhere in the world.

Having business interests that span the globe in the areas of energy, real estate, investments, ranching and infrastructure, we are a global enterprise with exploration and production activities in North America, South America, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. Hunt Oil Company continues to engage in traditional exploration, unconventional resource plays, complex pipeline and processing operations - and we are a leader in the LNG industry, having two projects operating in Yemen and Peru. In addition, we are engaged in electrical infrastructure projects in three states and Mexico.