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The Role of the Independent: Ralph B. Lloyd and the Development of California's Coastal Oil Region, 1900-1940

Independents, or nonintegrated companies, played a significant role in finding and producing crude oil in California, just as they had in Texas. They were able to do so because the resources of majors, or integrated firms, were not decisive in the search for oil. As both majors and independents increased in number, the factors of risk and uncertainty persuaded independents and majors to cooperate with each other. The case of Ralph B. Lloyd demonstrates the argument. Lloyd was a forceful individual who used his preeminent leasing position to shape the development of the Ventura Avenue field—the largest in the coastal region—through symbiotic relations with Shell and Associated. Lloyd's role is not captured in the data that scholars often use to demonstrate the dominance of m ajors in the California oil industry.