Development of a refinery at Houston, Texas, was a far-sighted management operation. The object was two-fold: to build a lubricants plant; and to mount a terminal for the transport of cheap mid-continent crude oil and finished products, by economical ocean transport to the American east coast. Neither of these goals was reached during the short life of Sinclair Gulf Corporation but both were brought clearly into view.

By the time the first crude oil was run through the Houston refinery in January, 1920, Sinclair interests owned substantial production nearby in the Damon Mound and Columbia fields south of Houston and a pipeline connection. During its first year, Houston averaged a throughput of 2,700 barrels daily. Its first gasoline stills followed a year later.

Houston became vitally important to Sinclair operations at its inception. From the location on the ship channel, tankers soon delivered Sinclair products to distribution centers along the coast as far east as a terminal at Tiverton, Rhode Island and crude oil to Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. The Houston refinery also developed the famous H-C gasoline, Sinclair's first super-fuel marketed in 1926. The initials of this gasoline stood for "Houston Concentrate," but some advertising men preferred the term "High Compression."

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