Kerr-McGee facts for kids
Kerr-McGee Corporation logo
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Formerly
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Anderson & Kerr Drilling; Kerlyn Oil Co.; Kerr-McGee Oil Industries Inc. |
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| Industry | Energy |
| Fate | Acquired by Anadarko Petroleum |
| Founded | 1929 in Oklahoma, United States |
| Founder | Robert S. Kerr |
| Defunct | 2006 |
| Headquarters | , |
Kerr-McGee Corporation was an American energy company. It started in 1929. The company was involved in finding and producing oil and natural gas. They also mined materials like perchlorate and uranium. Kerr-McGee operated in many different countries. In 2006, another company called Anadarko Petroleum bought Kerr-McGee. This big deal was worth $16.5 billion. After the sale, Kerr-McGee's operations moved from their main base in Oklahoma, United States.
Contents
The Story of Kerr-McGee
How the Company Began
The company we know as Kerr-McGee started in 1929. It was first called Anderson & Kerr Drilling Company. It was founded by Robert S. Kerr, a businessman and politician from Oklahoma, and James L. Anderson, an oil driller. In 1946, Dean A. McGee, a top geologist, joined the company. Its name then changed to Kerr-McGee Oil Industries, Incorporated.
At first, the company focused on finding oil deep in the ocean. They were one of the first to use special ships called drillships in the Gulf of Mexico. Later, they were also among the first to use large floating platforms called Spar platforms in that area.
Big Changes and New Owners
Over the years, Kerr-McGee grew by buying other companies. In 1999, they bought Oryx Energy Company. This gave them more oil and gas areas on land. It also added important operations in places like Algeria and Kazakhstan. Later, they bought HS Resources and Westport Resources Corp. These deals helped them grow in the Rocky Mountains area.
Until 2005, Kerr-McGee had two main parts: chemicals and oil. In November 2005, the chemical part of the company was sold. It became a new, separate company called Tronox. This meant Kerr-McGee's main office was in Oklahoma City. But its oil and gas operations were managed from Denver and Houston.
On June 23, 2006, Anadarko Petroleum bought Kerr-McGee. Anadarko paid $16.5 billion for the company. Kerr-McGee shareholders agreed to the sale in August 2006. After that, Kerr-McGee was no longer an independent company. All its operations, except for Tronox, moved out of Oklahoma. Over time, many former Kerr-McGee employees took top jobs at Anadarko. This made it seem like Kerr-McGee had simply changed its name.
In 1985, the Supreme Court of the United States heard a case involving Kerr-McGee. It was called Kerr-McGee Corp. v. Navajo Tribe. The court decided that an Indian tribe does not need the U.S. government's permission to tax companies on their land.
In 1978, the Navajo Nation Council created two new taxes. One was a 3% tax on things like mineral rights. The other was a 5% tax on business activities.
Kerr-McGee had many mineral rights on the Navajo Nation land. The company filed a lawsuit to stop the tribe from collecting these taxes. Kerr-McGee argued that the United States Secretary of the Interior had to approve any taxes on non-tribal businesses. A lower court agreed and stopped the taxes. But the tribe appealed this decision.
The higher court said no federal law required such approval. Kerr-McGee then took the case to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. They decided unanimously that the Navajo Nation had the right to tax Kerr-McGee. This was because tribes already had the power to tax. Also, no federal law stopped them from using their tribal sovereignty (their right to govern themselves) to create a tax.
Where Kerr-McGee Operated
In the United States
In the U.S., Kerr-McGee mainly found oil and gas in the Mid-Continent region, the Rocky Mountains, Louisiana, and the Gulf of Mexico. Their main offices were in Denver and Houston.
The company's main headquarters were in Downtown Oklahoma City. In the 1970s, Kerr-McGee also had a division that worked with forest products. They mined minerals in New Mexico, Arizona, and Idaho. They also mined coal in Wyoming and Illinois. Most of their U.S. operations were on land owned by the U.S. government or the Navajo Indian tribe. Kerr-McGee also owned a potash operation in California from 1974 to 1990.
In China
Kerr-McGee had projects to find and produce oil in Bohai Bay, China, near Beijing. They also planned to explore for oil in the South China Sea. These operations were mostly run from an office in Beijing.
Other Places
Kerr-McGee and its related companies also operated in other parts of the world. These included western Kazakhstan, western Australia, Brazil, Trinidad, Benin, and the United Kingdom. They also had smaller operations in other locations at different times.
Taking Care of the Environment
Kerr-McGee was partly responsible for a large problem with perchlorate in the Lower Colorado River. This chemical was found in the water in 1997. It came from a facility in Henderson, Nevada, that Kerr-McGee Chemical LLC owned and operated. Perchlorate was made there from 1945 until 1998.
In May 2007, Kerr-McGee Corp. spent $18 million to control pollution. This was part of a deal under the Clean Air Act. The deal aimed to reduce harmful emissions and save natural gas at their facilities in Utah and Colorado. The agreement fixed problems found at some of Kerr-McGee's natural gas compressor stations. These were near Vernal, Utah, and in Weld County, Colorado. Besides controlling pollution, Kerr-McGee had to pay a $200,000 fine. They also spent $250,000 on environmental projects in the areas where the problems happened.
In July 2005, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reached a deal with Kerr-McGee Chemical in Henderson, Nevada. The company had to pay a $55,392 fine. This was for breaking air permit rules at its facility since 1993. The EPA said Kerr-McGee did not install carbon monoxide emission controls. These controls were required by the Clean Air Act when they put in a new furnace in 1993. The company spent $4.8 million to install proper pollution controls. This reduced carbon monoxide emissions by 115 tons per year, an 80% reduction.
Nuclear Power and Uranium
Kerr-McGee was involved in several projects related to nuclear materials.
In 1952, Kerr-McGee bought the Navajo Uranium Mining Company. This included parts of several mines. They also bought a place to buy ore in Shiprock, New Mexico. In 1953, they built a processing plant there. In 1963, the mines and mill were sold to another company.
Later, Kerr-McGee formed a partnership called Kermac Nuclear Fuels Corporation. In 1957-58, this group built a uranium mill near Grants, New Mexico. In 1983, a new Kerr-McGee company called Quivira Mining Corporation took over the mill. Quivira was sold in 1989.
Kerr-McGee also bought the Lakeview Mining Company in 1961. That plant closed in 1960 or 1961 and was sold in 1968.
From about 1962 to 1966, Kerr-McGee processed uranium at its oil refinery in Cushing, Oklahoma. They stopped this work in 1966. Cleanups were done there several times over the years.
Around 1965, Kerr-McGee started making uranium fuel at its Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Site. This plant was near Crescent, Oklahoma. From 1973 to 1975, it also made special fuel pins for a nuclear test facility. The plant closed in 1976.
In 1967, Kerr-McGee bought the American Potash and Chemical Company. This company owned the Rare Earths Facility in West Chicago, Illinois. This facility produced thorium, radium, and uranium from sands and other ores. It stopped working in 1973.
In 1968, the company started building the Sequoyah Fuels Corporation plant in Gore, Oklahoma. In 1970, this plant began turning yellowcake uranium into another form of uranium. In 1987, it started making a different type of uranium. In 1988, Sequoyah was sold. Production stopped in November 1993 after a problem caused a large cloud to leave the plant. The plant never reopened.
Nuclear Companies and Spinoffs
In 1956, Kerr-McGee created the Kermac Nuclear Fuels Corporation with other partners. It worked in New Mexico.
Later, in the 1970s, the Kerr-McGee Nuclear Corporation was formed. In 1983, it split into two companies: Quivira Mining Corporation and Sequoyah Fuels Corporation. Quivira got the mine in New Mexico. Sequoyah Fuels took over the plants in Gore and Crescent, Oklahoma. Sequoyah was sold in 1988, and Quivira was sold in 1989.
The Cimarron Corporation was a part of Kerr-McGee that took control of the Cimarron plant in 1988. When Tronox became a separate company in 2006, it took ownership of Cimarron Corporation and responsibility for the plant.
Kerr-McGee bought the American Potash and Chemical Company in 1967. This company had a facility that processed uranium and thorium. This company later became Kerr-McGee Chemical Company. In 2005, this became Tronox. Tronox became independent in 2006, just before Kerr-McGee was sold to Anadarko Petroleum. Tronox later had financial problems. They blamed some of these problems on environmental responsibilities they inherited from Kerr-McGee.
Images for kids
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Kerr-McGee uranium mill near Grants, New Mexico.
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Sulfuric acid plant at Kerr McGee uranium mill.
