Refiner on the Rise: How the Cosden Petroleum Corporation's Refinery Bucked the Trend of Imports and Charted a Path for Survival Amid Changing ... Industry (And Did It in 1950s West Texas) Paperback – July 22, 2024

When we think of the 1950s in America, we think of fun times, sock hops, cool cars, good music (better than we have today), and more. We think of the open road: Route 66 was in its heyday.Big Spring, Texas, does not lie along the route of the Mother Road. But it is home to a refinery that has been operating continuously for almost a century. Today, it is known as the Delek refinery. For its first 35 years or so, it was known as the Cosden Petroleum Corporation refinery. Its heyday was in the 1950s. While many American oil companies saw their best chances at success through drilling abroad, Cosden enjoyed success drilling--and refining, or breaking down--oil at home. It had the benefit of not one, but two, large oil fields less than 100 miles away from its refinery. And it managed to overcome tax hurdles that had remained in place for nearly a quarter century, namely with regard to tax-and-spend policies coming from the halls of Congress.Beyond that, Refiner on the Rise is a story of friendships, the friendships that the company's longtime president, Raymond Tollett, enjoyed with business leaders from a wide variety of industries.A story of success and a story of friendships--when we see the story of Cosden, this is that story. Read more