by Bruce Wells | Jan 29, 2026 | Offshore History
As the 20th century approached, Ohio oil wells producing far out on a reservoir marked the true beginning of the U.S. offshore petroleum industry, according to Mercer County historians.
America’s first offshore drilling once was generally acknowledged to be over Louisiana’s Caddo Lake in 1911 — until researchers in Mercer and Auglaize counties in Ohio said otherwise. The oil patch sleuths pointed to multiple county documents recording oil wells producing above Grand Lake St. Marys at least 20 years before drillers built platforms on Caddo Lake. (more…)
by Bruce Wells | Nov 8, 2025 | 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…)
by Bruce Wells | Jul 1, 2025 | Offshore History
The U.S. offshore petroleum industry began with drilling and production from platforms constructed on lakes in Ohio and Louisiana and on California oil piers. In Ohio, state geologists reported oil wells drilled on Grand Lake as early as 1891. Dozens of wells on Louisiana’s Caddo Lake also produced oil in 1911.
By 1897, Henry Williams had successfully pursued the giant Summerland, California, oilfield to the scenic cliffside beaches of Santa Barbara.
California Oil Piers
With reports of “tar balls” on the beaches from natural offshore oil seeps, Williams recognized that the highly productive field extended into the Pacific Ocean. He and his associates constructed a 300-foot pier, mounted a cable-tool derrick, and began drilling. (more…)
