Guide to Federal Records

Records of the Petroleum Administrative Board


(Record Group 232)
1924-42

OVERVIEW OF RECORDS LOCATIONS

Table of Contents

  • 232.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY
  • 232.2 RECORDS OF THE FEDERAL OIL CONSERVATION BOARD 1924-34
  • 232.3 RECORDS OF THE OIL ENFORCEMENT SECTION, DIVISION OF INVESTIGATIONS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 1933-35
  • 232.4 RECORDS OF THE PETROLEUM ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD 1933-37
  • 232.5 RECORDS OF THE PAB FIELD OFFICES 1933-36
  • 232.6 RECORDS OF THE PETROLEUM LABOR POLICY BOARD 1934-35
  • 232.7 RECORDS OF THE NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION (NRA) RELATING TO THE PETROLEUM ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD 1933-42

232.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY

Established: By the Secretary of the Interior, September 11, 1933, in his capacities as Administrator of the Code of Fair Competition for the Petroleum Industry and as Presidentially designated administrator of provisions of the National Industrial Recovery Act (48 Stat. 194), June 16, 1933, prohibiting transportation in interstate or foreign commerce of petroleum and petroleum products exceeding amounts permitted by state laws or regulations.

Predecessor Agencies:

  • Federal Oil Conservation Board (1924-34)
  • Oil Enforcement Section, Division of Investigations, Department of the Interior (1933-35)
Functions: Investigated petroleum industry. Prepared studies and recommended federal actions respecting petroleum. Engaged in cooperative conservation activities with oil industry and state authorities. Enforced regulations issued under the National Industrial Recovery Act and the petroleum code, until the U.S. Supreme Court declared the act unconstitutional, May 27, 1935. Enforced the Connally "Hot Oil" Act (49 Stat. 30), February 22, 1935, prohibiting foreign and interstate commerce in petroleum and its products produced in violation of state laws.

Abolished: Effective March 31, 1936, by EO 7076, June 15, 1935.

Successor Agencies: Petroleum Conservation Division, Department of the Interior (1936-46); Oil and Gas Division, Department of the Interior (1946-55); Office of Oil and Gas, Department of the Interior (1955-58); Division of Conservation, Geological Survey, Department of the Interior (1958-65).

Finding Aids: Herbert J. Horwitz, comp., "Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Petroleum Administrative Board," NC 79 (Nov. 1964).

Related Records: Record copies of publications of the Petroleum Administrative Board and its predecessors in RG 287, Publications of the U.S. Government. Records of the National Recovery Administration, RG 9.

Subject Access Terms: New Deal agency.

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232.2 RECORDS OF THE FEDERAL OIL CONSERVATION BOARD
1924-34

History: Established December 19, 1924, under the chairmanship of the Secretary of the Interior, to investigate the oil industry, recommend appropriate remedial action, and cooperate with industry and state agencies in promoting resource conservation. Superseded by the Petroleum Administrative Board, June 30, 1934. SEE 232.1.

Textual Records: General correspondence, proration studies, and press releases and clippings, 1924-34.

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232.3 RECORDS OF THE OIL ENFORCEMENT SECTION, DIVISION OF
INVESTIGATIONS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
1933-35

Textual Records: General records, including administrative correspondence, investigative files, questionnaires, state files, and other records relating to the oil industry, 1933-35.

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232.4 RECORDS OF THE PETROLEUM ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD
1933-37

Textual Records: Correspondence relating to marketing, labor problems, storage, and pools, 1933-36. Office files of Chairman Charles Fahy, Acting Chairman John Frey, and coordinator Don J. Kirkley, 1933-36. Transcripts of board hearings, 1933-35. Orders, 1934-35. "Geographical Area File," 1933-36. General records of the Accounting Division, 1933-36. General files of the field offices, 1933-36. Records of the Planning and Coordinating Committee, 1933-35. Hearing file of the Petroleum Code Survey Committee on Small Business Enterprise (Blazer Committee), 1933- 36. Records relating to petroleum pricing, production, and refining, and to a cost survey of crude oil production, 1933-36. Case files relating to violations of oil enforcement regulations, 1934-35. Miscellaneous litigation case files, 1933-34. Card indexes to board files, case files, and violations, 1933-37.

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232.5 RECORDS OF THE PAB FIELD OFFICES 1933-36

Textual Records: General files of the field offices in Chicago, IL, 1933-36 (in Chicago); Denver, CO, 1933-36 (in Denver); Jersey City, NJ, 1933-36 (in New York); San Francisco, CA, 1933-36 (in San Francisco); and Seattle, WA, 1933-36 (in Seattle). Records of Oil Enforcement offices in Chicago, IL, 1933-36 (in Chicago); and New York, NY, 1933-36 (in New York). Texas newspaper clippings, 1933-36 (in Fort Worth).

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232.6 RECORDS OF THE PETROLEUM LABOR POLICY BOARD
1934-35

History: Established by the Administrator of the Code of Fair Competition for the Petroleum Industry (Secretary of the Interior), October 10, 1933, on recommendation of the Planning and Coordination Committee, Petroleum Administrative Board, to assist in the administration of the petroleum code. Abolished with the Petroleum Administrative Board, effective March 31, 1936, by EO 7076, June 15, 1935.

Textual Records: General correspondence, transcripts of hearings, issuances, press releases, and miscellaneous records, 1934-35.

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232.7 RECORDS OF THE NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION (NRA)
RELATING TO THE PETROLEUM ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD
1933-42

Textual Records: Correspondence, reports, and related records pertaining to the preparation of the Code of Fair Competition for the Petroleum Industry, 1933-35. Printed copies of orders, and miscellaneous briefs and reports, 1933-35. Information file, begun by the Petroleum Administrative Board and continued by the NRA's Federal Tender Board and its successor, Federal Tender Board No. 1, pertaining to the issuing of certificates of clearance for interstate shipment of petroleum and its products, 1934-42.


Bibliographic note: Web version based on Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States. Compiled by Robert B. Matchette et al. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995.
3 volumes, 2428 pages.

Ordering information

This Web version is updated from time to time to include records processed since 1995.


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