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Why Would Oil Majors Sell Small Wells to Apache? · Founders

Founders

#427 How Raymond Plank Built a $50 Billion Oil Company

Raymond Plank founded Apache Corporation with just $250,000 in 1954. 50 years later his company was worth $50 billion. This episode examines the life and entrepreneurial philosophy of Raymond Plank through his memoir A Small Difference Rather than presenting a conventional history of Apache, this episode focuses on the lessons, maxims, and beliefs Plank…

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Notes

  1. Why Is Raymond Plank's Memoir Called a Small Difference? at 0:27

    David Senra reads the introduction of Raymond Plank's memoir A Small Difference. Full answer

  2. Why Did World War II Make Risk Feel Small to Raymond Plank? at 7:35

    David Senra says Raymond Plank's World War II service, as a young man in his early 20s, made the business risks he took later seem small by comparison. Full answer

  3. How Did Apache Corporation Begin in 1954? at 13:23

    David Senra says Raymond Plank founded Apache Corporation in 1954 with $250,000 after Minneapolis oil investors told him he must take over and manage their… Full answer

  4. How Much Did an Apache Oil Bet Really Cost? at 17:08

    David Senra says the book's example of a $200,000 check for an Apache drilling program cost the investor about $56,000 out of pocket. Full answer

  5. How Did New Drilling Methods Revive Apache's Old Wells? at 29:02

    David Senra says Apache's old oil wells paid off decades later because people outside the company invented drilling techniques that made land Raymond Plank… Full answer

  6. Why Would Oil Majors Sell Small Wells to Apache? at 34:33

    David Senra says major integrated oil companies would sell smaller wells to Apache while they sought cost reduction, cash to redeploy, and larger reserves. Full answer

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