Interviewer(s): T. Priest; J. Pratt. Houston, TX

Affiliation: University of Houston/History International

Joe Foster worked for Tenneco for 31 years, last serving as chairman of Tenneco Oil Company and executive vice president and director of Tenneco, Inc. He was born in Arp, TX and received petroleum engineering and business degrees from Texas A&M. He managed Tenneco's extremely successful exploration and production operations in offshore Gulf of Mexico. Foster is famous in the industry for opposing the decision of the Tenneco board in 1988 to sell the Tenneco oil company to use the proceeds to salvage some of its less-profitable companies. In 1989, he founded Newfield Exploration Company, which became one of the top produces of oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico, largely by applying 3-D seismic technology. He retired from active management in 2000, but remains a highly respected and influential figure in the industry. He lives in Houston.