The Oil Center (Lafayette, Louisiana)

The period from 1940-1960 saw tremendous change brought on by the oil industry in Acadiana. In every way, and every day, Lafayette seemed to change.

As demand for oil increased during and after World War II, oil exploration and extraction kicked into high gear. By 1945, fifteen major oil companies were located in Lafayette and in 1947, when Kerr-McGee drilled the first oil well out of sight of land (ten and a half miles south of the coast of Morgan City and in only 18 feet of water) the boom was about to get even larger. Lafayette saw the establishment of such renowned companies as Petroleum Helicopters Inc (PHI) in 1949, and the city secured itself as a primary setting for corporate offices and ancillary businesses with the construction of the Oil Center in 1952. By 1959, 586 oil companies were in Lafayette, and 190-250 oil firms had offices in the Oil Center. That same year oil employee payroll in the city was over nine million dollars.