Interviewer(s): T. Priest. Houston, TX

Affiliation: University of Houston/History International

A native of Cisco, TX, Ray Galvin graduated in 1953 from Texas A&M University and joined Gulf Oil Corporation. In the 1950s and 1960s, he served in various natural gas production engineering assignments with Gulf, eventually in 1975 rising to district engineer in New Orleans. In 1979, he became Gulf's vice president of production, U.S. operations, and vice president of the company's South and East offshore division in 1981. After the Gulf/Chevron merger in 1985, he became regional vice president of exploration and production for Chevron's domestic oil and gas operations. He retired in 1996 as president of Chevron U.S.A. Production Company (a position he was elected to in 1992). A highly visible leader in the industry, Galvin was chairman of the Natural Gas Council and the Natural Gas Supply Association in the mid-1990s.