A Chronology of U.S. Oil & Gas
This Week in Petroleum History
This Week in Petroleum History: August 4 – 10
August 4, 1913 - Discovery of Oklahoma's "Poor Man's Field" - The Crystal Oil Company completed its Wirt Franklin No. 1 well 20 miles northwest of Ardmore, Oklahoma. The wildcat well revealed the giant Healdton field, which became known as "the poor man's field"...
This Week in Petroleum History: July 28 – August 3
July 28, 1924 - Oil Scouts form National Group The National Oil Scouts Association of America -- today the International Oil Scouts Association (IOSA) -- filed its charter in Austin, Texas, bringing new standards to an important oilfield profession. Since the 1860s,...
This Week in Petroleum History: July 21 – 27
July 21, 1935 - "Diamond Glenn" McCarthy strikes Oil - Glenn H. McCarthy struck oil 50 miles east of Houston in 1935, extending the already prolific Anahuac field. The well was the first of many for the Texas independent producer who would discover 11 Texas oilfields...
This Week in Petroleum History: July 14 – 20
July 14, 1863 - Patent issued for "Tool for Boring Rock" - French tunnel engineer Rodolphe Leschot received a U.S. patent for a "Tool for Boring Rock." His concept included a ring of industrial-grade diamonds on the end of a tubular drill rod designed to cut a...
This Week in Petroleum History: July 7 – 13
July 7, 1919 - Start of First Transcontinental Motor Convoy - Beginning with the dedication of a "Zero Milestone" marker on the Ellipse south of the White House, a convoy of U.S. Army military vehicles began a cross-country trek to San Francisco. Lt. Col. Dwight...
This Week in Petroleum History: June 30 – July 6
June 30, 1864 - Oil Tax funds Civil War - The federal government taxed oil for the first time when it levied a $1 per barrel tax on production from Pennsylvania oilfields. Desperate for revenue to fund the Civil War as early as 1862, Treasury Secretary Salmon Chase...
This Week in Petroleum History: June 23 – 29
June 23, 1921 - Signal Hill brings California Oil Boom - Another southern California drilling boom began when a geyser of "black gold" erupted 114 feet high at Signal Hill. The Alamitos No. 1 well, which revealed a giant oilfield, produced about 600 barrels of oil a...
This Week in Petroleum History: June 16 – 22
June 16, 1903 - Ford Motor Company Incorporated - After successfully testing his gasoline-powered Quadricycle in 1896, Henry Ford and a group of investors (including machinist John Dodge) filed articles of association for the Ford Motor Company. Ford's contributions...
This Week in Petroleum History: June 9 – 15
June 9, 1894 - Water Well finds Oil in Corsicana, Texas - A contractor hired by the town of Corsicana to drill a water well on 12th Street found oil instead, launching the Texas petroleum industry seven years before the more famous Spindletop Hill gusher hundreds of...
This Week in Petroleum History: June 2 – 8
June 2, 1908 - Goose Creek Oilfield discovered - Drilled on Galveston Bay wetlands, the first offshore well in Texas revealed a giant oilfield 20 miles southeast of Houston, according to the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). Inspired by reports of bubbles on...
History of oil and Gas
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