Mitchell Energy and Development Corporation - Specimen Stock Certificate - George P. Mitchell

Specimen Stock printed by Federated Banknote Company. Available in Orange, Green or Brown. Please specify color.

Mitchell Energy and Development Corporation, initially founded in 1946 as Roxoil Drilling, Incorporated, underwent a name change to Oil Drilling, Incorporated later that year after an investment by geologist George P. Mitchell. Under Mitchell’s leadership, the company transformed from a modest wildcatting partnership into one of the nation’s largest independent energy producers. Initially focused on traditional oil and gas drilling, the firm embarked on a significant diversification journey in the 1960s and 1970s. This expansion included the groundbreaking opening of The Woodlands in 1974, a 27,000-acre master-planned community north of Houston that emerged as one of the most successful sustainable developments in the United States.

The company’s most notable contribution lies in its pioneering role in the “shale revolution.� Beginning in the early 1980s, Mitchell Energy dedicated nearly two decades and substantial investments to exploring innovative methods for extracting natural gas from the dense Barnett Shale formation. Despite industry skepticism, the company achieved a commercial breakthrough in the late 1990s by successfully combining horizontal drilling with a cost-effective “slickwater� hydraulic fracturing technique. This groundbreaking innovation revolutionized the global energy landscape by making previously inaccessible gas reserves economically viable. In early 2002, Mitchell Energy was acquired by Devon Energy for approximately $3.5 billion, solidifying Devon’s position as a leading independent producer of natural gas in North America.