The Potential Gas Committee estimates that U.S. recoverable reserves will last 118 years at current production levels. This donation is the latest in a series supporting science and the physics department in particular. George Mitchell,a billionaire Texas oilman who defied the stereotypical swagger so identified with that industry. A new court order possibly stymies efforts to reveal more about Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged sex trafficking ring. [12] Mitchell Energy & Development Corp. was later acquired by Devon Energy. EY & Citi On The Importance Of Resilience And Innovation, Impact 50: Investors Seeking Profit — And Pushing For Change, Ghislaine Maxwell Court Records Will Be Made Public, Judge Rules. The downgrading of the oil resource should not be misinterpreted as effecting oil supply. You could easily throw up your hands today over drug pricing. George Mitchell helped set in motion the American Oil and Gas Boom. © 2012-2020 Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation. This year, the annual Forbes list of wealthiest Americans ranked him 239th with a net worth of $2 billion. "George Mitchell was a pioneer in the energy industry and was admired by many around the world for his entrepreneurial spirit," Dewhurst said Friday. "His … His company, Mitchell Energy & Development, was credited with more than 200 oil and 350 natural gas discoveries. World Oil Reserves Suddenly Downgraded By 292 Barrels! George Phydias Mitchell and his wife, Cynthia, who died in 2009, had 10 children. The drug companies, payers, physicians and patients have too much bad blood. [31][3], American billionaire businessman and shale gas pioneer, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFSchmandt (, "The World's Billionaires: George Mitchell", "The Father of the Barnett Natural Gas Field: George Mitchell", "The father of fracking: Few businesspeople have done as much to change the world as George Mitchell", "George Mitchell still pushes energy conservation: Oilman has worked for conservation since the Arab embargo more than 30 years ago", "George Mitchell, a Pioneer in Hydraulic Fracturing, Dies at 94", "Texas A&M Mourns Legendary Houston Philanthropist And Distinguished Former Student George P. Mitchell", Potential Supply of Natural Gas in the United States, "A "Shale Day" in honor of the sustainable research", "Devon Energy Hits 1 Tcf Milestone in Barnett Shale", "George P. Mitchell, billionaire philanthropist, dies at 94", "Letter stating Mitchell took the 'Giving Pledge, "Mitchell Gift to Endow Academies' Efforts in Sustainability Science", "Science and Technology for Sustainability Program (STS)", "Mitchell company settles wrongful death suit from capsizal of 'Cynthia Woods, "2011 Forbes Rich List Includes 8 Greeks", "Oil giant, developer George Mitchell dies at 94", https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/houstonchronicle/obituary.aspx?n=cynthia-woods-mitchell&pid=137965860, https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/houstonchronicle/obituary.aspx?n=george-phydias-mitchell&pid=166161642, "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement", Funding Universe: Mitchell Energy and Development Corporation, Montgomery County Memorial Library System, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_P._Mitchell&oldid=976716810, Short description is different from Wikidata, Infobox person using certain parameters when dead, All Wikipedia articles needing clarification, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from July 2012, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2012, Articles with failed verification from April 2015, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Founder of Mitchell Energy & Development Corp.; philanthropist, Medal for distinguished achievement from Texas A&M Geosciences and Earth Resources Advisory Council (1980), Horatio Alger Award, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ first Award for Distinguished Service in the Petroleum Industry, Honorary doctoral degree from the University of Houston (1984), The Galveston Daily News’ Citizen of the Year and the Ima Hogg Historical Achievement Award (1988), Global Tomorrow Coalition’s Lorax Award for contributions to the environment (1989), Merrill Lynch, Ernst & Young and Inc. Magazine’s Master Entrepreneur of the Year (1992), Boy Scouts of America’s Hornaday Award for Environmental Achievement (1993), Galveston’s Leonora Kempner Thompson Community Enrichment Award (1993), American Institute of Architects’ Jefferson Award, Texas Business Hall of Fame Award, the National Preservation Honor Award, Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation presented to Mr. And Mrs. Mitchell by Governor George W. Bush (1995), Houston Chapter of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants’ honoree, and the Mirabeau B. Lamar Award (1996), Nature Conservancy of Texas’ Lifetime Achievement honoree (1997), Texas Society of Architects’ first Cornerstone Award presented to Mr. And Mrs. Mitchell, Galveston Historical Foundation’s Spirit of Elissa Award, Galveston Chamber of Commerce’s Christie Mitchell Award (1999), Prevent Blindness Texas’ People of Vision Award presented to Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell, World Future Society’s Distinguished Service Award (2000), National Trust of Historic Preservation’s Crowninshield Award presented to Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell, Texas Society of Professional Engineers’ Engineering Dream Team member, Pioneer Oil Producers Society’s Distinguished Service Award (2001), Institute for Energy Law’s John Rogers Award (2002), This page was last edited on 4 September 2020, at 15:41. When he saw the picture of a beautiful woman in a local Greek newspaper, he headed for Florida, where she had settled, according to family lore. He is considered the chief pioneer of hydraulic fracturing, the now common industry process known as fracking that uses chemicals with water under high pressure to crack open rock formations and release oil and natural gas. [25], In 2004, Forbes magazine estimated his net worth as $1.6 billion, placing him among the 500 richest people worldwide. All Rights Reserved. [citation needed] In 2010, The Woodlands was home to 97,000 people. At 3:00 PM Eastern on Monday, August 12, 2013, I will be visiting with Mitchell's granddaughter, Katherine Lorenz about her grandfather's legacy, especially as an environmentalist and a philanthropist. It’s too complex. George Mitchell once brokered a peace accord in Northern Ireland. The vast majority of this amount is related to science, environmental sustainability, and sustainability science-related fields, including the foundation's current grant-making programs which focus on sustainability science, clean energy, water, and natural gas sustainability. George Phydias Mitchell (May 21, 1919 – July 26, 2013) was an American businessman, real estate developer and philanthropist from Texas credited with pioneering the economic extraction of shale gas. George Mitchell, Texas oil man, real estate developer, and one of Houston's wealthiest businessmen, died Friday at his home in Galveston, a spokeswoman … When fully developed the population will have reached 130,000. Over his career, he participated in drilling some 10,000 wells, including more than 1,000 wildcats — wells drilled away from known fields. There are too many players. Yawn. [16], Mitchell and his wife Cynthia, along with the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation, have distributed or pledged more than $400 million in grants to causes, programs, and institutions.[17][18]. [28][29] He was predeceased by his wife, Cynthia, who died on December 27, 2009,[30] and his two brothers, Christie and Johnny. In the early 1970s, Mitchell began developing The Woodlands, a suburban Houston master-planned community designed as a place for mixed-income residential development with jobs and amenities nearby while preserving the East Texas forest and other natural resources that covered the 27,000 acres. The process has led to an energy industry boom. "There's no point in mincing words. Mitchell sold his energy company in 2002 for $3.1 billion. As a follow-up to Our Common Journey, Mitchell donated $20 million to create the George and Cynthia Mitchell Endowment for Sustainability Science at the National Academy of Sciences committed to advancing science and technology in support of sustainable development. The Woodlands is now home to about 100,000 people and one of the nation's busiest outdoor performing arts and entertainment venues there carries his wife's name, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. [11] Extracting natural gas from shale rock is rapidly spreading to countries outside the United States. Billionaire George Mitchell talks with Forbes about his pioneering drilling work and the difficulties of the current market. For this reason, it is proposed that the date of his birth -21 May 1919 – will be considered as the "Shale Day". "There's no doubt that he helped make this world a better place.". But the biggest difference was down to the efforts of one man: George Mitchell, ... who saw the potential for improving a known technology, fracking, to get at the gas. Afterward, he struck out on his own with a brother and a partner as a wildcatter operation. [5] His father, Savvas Paraskevopoulos, was from the village of Nestani in Arcadia, tended goats before immigrating to the United States in 1901, arriving at Ellis Island at the age of 20. On the long drive through New Mexico to the Albuquerque airport, I found myself thinking about the last time I visited Mitchell at his office in downtown Houston. George Phydias Mitchell, pioneering oil and gas engineer, developer of hydraulic fracturing, company founder, land developer, and philanthropist, was born in Galveston, Texas, on May 21, 1919.