Jack Gallagher (oilman)

Jack Gallagher

John Edward Patrick "Jack" Gallagher, OC (16 July 1916 – 16 December 1998) was a Canadian oilman. Between 1950 and 1983 he was the head of Dome Petroleum. Gallagher is best remembered for leading extensive explorations in the Beaufort Sea.

Biography

Born in Winnipeg, Gallagher attended the University of Manitoba. He became a petroleum geologist working for a number of multinationals in California, Egypt, Latin America and Canada searching for oil.

In 1950, he branched out on his own and founded Dome Petroleum. The company found important new oil fields in Alberta, but Gallagher's main focus was on Canada's Arctic. The company spent billions exploring and found large deposits under the Beaufort Sea, but did not have the money to develop them. Deeply in debt, Gallagher resigned as CEO in 1983. Dome was sold to Amoco in 1988 for $5.5 billion. Gallagher founded a new company that would become Prime Energy in 1984.

Gallagher was an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Canadian Petroleum Hall of Fame. In 1978, he was awarded the "Mining Man of the Year" by The Northern Miner.

References

• Foster, Peter. Other People's Money: The Banks, the Government and Dome. Don Mills: Harper Collins, 1983.

• Lyon, Jim. Dome: The Rise and Fall of the House that Jack Built. Toronto: MacMillan, 1983.