America’s petroleum industry began when a lumber company sold 105 acres along a northwestern Pennsylvania creek known for having natural oil seeps. New Hampshire entrepreneur George Bissell (1821-1884) bought the land from Brewer, Watson & Company because of his growing interest in “Rock Oil.” (more…)
While drilling for oil in 1878, a well drilled by Michael and Obediah Haymaker erupted with natural gas from a depth of almost 1,400 feet. “Every piece of rigging went sky high, whirling around like so much paper caught in a gust of wind. But instead of oil, we had struck gas,” Michael Haymaker recalled. (more…)
William Maclure, who would become a renowned American geologist and “stratigrapher,” was born in Ayr, Scotland. He created the earliest geological maps of North America in 1809 and later earned the title “Father of American Geology.” (more…)
Shortages of equipment and drilling delays during World War I revealed the petroleum industry’s struggle with a lack of uniformity of pipe sizes, threads, and couplings. Founded in 1919, the American Petroleum Institute (API) gathered industry experts to come up with industry-wide standards to promote equipment compatibility. “After bringing these experts together to agree upon design and requirements, the first standard, Specifications for Steel and Iron Pipe for Oil Country Tubular Goods, was published on October 20, 1924,” notes API, which has since published more than 800 standards and guidelines. (more…)
Oklahoma independent producers established the Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association in Tulsa, Oklahoma, six months after the United States entered World War I. The organization, today the United States Oil & Gas Association, was founded by petroleum industry leaders Frank Phillips, E.W. Marland, Bill Skelly, and Robert Kerr to increase petroleum supplies for the Allies during the war. The association in 1919 formed the Oklahoma-Kansas Division, now the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma. (more…)
