A Chronology of U.S. Oil & Gas

This Week in Petroleum History

This Week in Petroleum History, August 25 – 31

August 26, 1926 – The Texas Company expands - After years of growth thanks to discoveries at Spindletop and Sour Lake, the Texas Corporation was incorporated, acquiring all of the outstanding stock of the Texas Company, which was dissolved the next year. Moving its...

This Week in Petroleum History: August 18 – 24

August 18, 1990 - Oil Pollution Act becomes Law - President George H.W. Bush signed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which was passed by the 101st Congress to strengthen the ability of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prevent and respond to catastrophic oil...

This Week in Petroleum History: August 11 – 17

August 11, 1891 – Pole Cat Well brings Prosperity to Sistersville - The discovery well of the Sistersville oilfield brought great wealth to a small West Virginian town on the Ohio River north of Parkersburg and Burning Springs (see Confederates attack Oilfield). “The...

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, later 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 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...

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