by Bruce Wells | Nov 9, 2026 | This Week in Petroleum History
November 9, 1978 – President Carter signs National Energy Act –
President Jimmy Carter signed into law the National Energy Act to cut oil imports and reduce energy demand. The 95th Congress legislation included the National Energy Conservation Policy Act, which mandated energy conservation in homes, schools, and public buildings. It also included the Power Plant and Industrial Fuel Use Act, the Public Utilities Regulatory Policy Act, the Energy Tax Act, and the Natural Gas Policy Act, which temporarily authorized the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to set price ceilings. (more…)
by Bruce Wells | Nov 1, 2026 | Offshore History
The U.S. offshore drilling for oil began in the late-19th century on lakes and at the ends of Pacific Ocean piers. Until an innovative Kerr-McGee drilling platform in 1947, no offshore drilling company had ever risked drilling beyond the sight of land.
Many of the earliest offshore oil wells were drilled from piers at Summerland in Santa Barbara County, California. Circa 1901 photo by G.H. Eldridge courtesy National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.
In 1896, as enterprising businessmen pursued California’s prolific Summerland oilfield all the way to the beach, the lure of offshore production enticed Henry L. Williams and his associates to build a pier 300 feet out into the Pacific — and mount a standard cable-tool rig on it. (more…)
