Robert Van Osdell West, Jr.

Robert Van Osdell West Jr. was an American entrepreneur engaged in the oil and gas business. He is noted for founding the American energy company Tesoro Petroleum Corporation. West was also an explorer and was part of those who discovered the Bob West Field, one of the largest gas field discoveries during the 1990s.

Biography West was born in Kansas City, Missouri but he grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His early education was completed at Cascia Hall Preparatory School. He then obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering in 1942 from the University of Texas at Austin where he later completed his doctorate degree in chemical and petroleum engineering. When Tom Slick, the owner of Texstar Corporation died, West persuaded his executor to sell the company to him. Using a $6.5 million loan, he purchased and merged Texstar into Tesoro. By 1985, West claimed that Tesoro’s joint venture with the government of Trinidad and Tobago could face a write-down in the latter’s attempt to confiscate the company.

West died on November 16, 2006, due to respiratory failure.