The "other" Pan-Am

CI

The earliest Pan-Am logo, "The Doughboy" came right out of its experience providing fuel and oil to World War I's battlefronts

Pan-American Petroleum and Transport Company, Inc. was founded in 1916 by a visionary west Texas oilcatter named Edward L. Doheny who discovered vast oilfields just south of the border in northern Mexico. Already successful, he became extremely wealthy extremely quickly making a wartime fortune from the Allies’ demand for oil during World War I. By 1917, Pan-American Petroleum and Transport (always referred to as “Pan-Am” with the hyphen) had a fleet of 31 oil tankers to move its crude. In 1918, Pan-Am expanded its oil interests into Colombia and Venezuela. In 1919, Pan-Am began drawing oil from the U.S. Gulf coast. Pan-Am briefly became the world’s largest supplier of petroleum. 

Edward L. Doheny (1856-1935) was an oil baron of the old school. He made millions of dollars literally overnight supplying oil to the Allies in World War I. He was a ruthless businessman. Sinclair Lewis novelized him in Oil! and Daniel Day-Lewis fictionally portrayed him in There Will Be Blood. He bought everyone, right up to U.S. Cabinet Secretaries. Although never indicted in the Teapot Dome Scandal, Doheny was forced to reorganize his holdings after the incident

In 1922, Albert Bacon Fall, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior under Warren G. Harding, leased the U.S. Navy’s Teapot Dome Oil Reserve Lands to Sinclair Oil and to Pan-Am without competitive bidding. There was no requirement for competitive bids. Doheny also received the contract to build and supply the fuel depots at Pearl Harbor. 

Teapot Dome, so so named because of the "spout" on the side of the rock structure. The "handle" eroded away in 1930, and the "spout" fell in 1962 

It was later discovered that Edward L. Doheny had made Fall a no-interest personal loan of at least $100,000.00 ($13 million today) prior to receiving the valuable lease. Doheny always asserted that the $100,000.00 was not a bribe, just a favor to a friend. Doheny was not convicted of offering any bribe, but Fall was convicted of accepting one. Although he was never indicted, the “Teapot Dome Scandal” besmirched Doheny’s already dubious "robber baron" reputation. 

By chance or by choice the Pan-Am house flag shared its colors with Pan American-Grace Airways

To salvage Pan-Am’s business, Doheny merged his company with the American Oil Company in 1923. He then merged Pan-Am / American Oil with a number of foreign oil companies in a process that took some twenty years overall. Pan-Am remained the brand name. 

The Pan-Maryland, one of Pan-Am's tanker fleet

A Pan-Am dock on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. Several tankers are at anchor

During this period, Pan-Am acquired pipelines, refineries, oil lands, tanker fleets, gasoline stations, and even a small Pan-American Transport Airlines (used only for corporate, not general aviation, purposes).  

A typical 1950s Pan-Am gas station

Pan-Am, like the eponymous airline, marketed itself widely through logoed merchandise. The two companies were not corporate siblings though Rockefellers sat on both Boards of Directors. Note the reference to Doheny's original Mexican Oil Corporation

The Pan-Am logo changed when it joined with Standard Oil of Indiana

One of Pan-Am’s major markets was aviation fuel. Pan-Am fuel powered the Spirit of St. Louis across the sky to Paris, and Pan-American aviation fuel (among other brands)  was used by Pan American Airways. Pan-Am even adopted a Pan Am Clipper as one of its several business logos. 

In a truly odd twist of 1930s product placement, Pan-Am Petroleum's brand of aviation motor oil was called "Ocean Liner." The name change was made so as not to confuse people, but more importantly, to avoid government accusations of monopoly. Despite the name, Pan-Am's oil sported a Boeing 314 Flying Clipper rather than a steamship as its logo. Pan American Airways routinely (but not exclusively) used Pan-American Petroleum products in its Clipper fleet including the Boeing 314s (pictured), which were the largest and latest variety of Clipper flying boats used by the airline

Pan-American Petroleum and Transport merged with Standard Oil of Indiana in 1954. The merged company was at first called Standard, then American, then American Oil Company, then Amoco. The last Pan-Am gasoline station closed in 1961.  In 1998, British Petroleum bought out Amoco’s assets.