D. G. Scofield

Who was D. G. Scofield?

Demetrius G. Scofield, more commonly D. G. Scofield, was a pioneer of the oil business in California who founded a number of companies in that state and became the first president of Standard Oil of California.

He served as secretary to the now-defunct F.W. Mitchell Oil Company of Pennsylvania during the Titusville oil boom and arrived in California in about 1875, as the Pico Canyon Oilfield was being developed. By 1876, he was the manager of the small refinery of the California Star Oil Works, which was capable of refining up to 40 barrels of oil a day. The facility, located at Lyon Station in Los Angeles County was the first refinery in California. It is now abandoned but may be restored as an historical site.

By 1879 he was a key employee of the Pacific Coast Oil Company responsible for bringing other skilled workers to California. In that year, the Pacific Coast Oil Company completed a five mile long, 2-inch-diameter pipeline from Pico Canyon to a new refinery near Newhall.

In 1906, Pacific Coast Oil Company was acquired by Standard Oil. With the 1911 breakup of that corporation, Scofield became president of the new Standard Oil of California.