A Chronology of U.S. Oil & Gas
This Week in Petroleum History
This Week in Petroleum History, October 26 – Nov. 1
October 26, 1970 - Joe Roughneck Statue dedicated in Texas - Texas Governor Preston Smith dedicated a "Joe Roughneck" memorial in Boonsville to mark the 20th anniversary of a giant natural gas field discovery in East Texas. In 1950, the Lone Star Gas Company's Vaught...
This Week in Petroleum History, October 19 – 25
October 19, 1990 – First Use of Strategic Petroleum Reserve - As world oil prices spiked after the August 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi troops, the first presidentially mandated emergency use of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was authorized by...
This Week in Petroleum History, October 12 – 18
October 12, 1964 - Methane Princess delivers LNG - Four months after entering service in June 1964, Methane Princess, the first purpose-built liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, delivered its cargo to Canvey Island in the United Kingdom. With nine tanks capable of...
This Week in Petroleum History: October 5 – 11
October 5, 1886 - Dresser patents Pipe Coupler - Solomon R. Dresser (1842-1911) of Bradford, Pennsylvania, received a U.S. patent for his "new and useful improvements in pipe-couplings." The design created a secure connection between pipes needed for oil and natural...
This Week in Petroleum History: Sept. 28 – Oct. 4
September 28, 1945 - Truman claims America's Outer Continental Shelf - President Harry Truman extended U.S. jurisdiction over the natural resources of the outer continental shelf, including oil and natural gas, under the control of the Secretary of the Interior. In...
This Week in Petroleum History: September 21 – 27
September 21, 1901 - First Louisiana Oil Well - Nine months after the headline-making January 1901 "Lucas Gusher" in Texas, another giant oilfield was revealed 90 miles east in Louisiana. W. Scott Heywood -- already successful thanks to wells drilled at Spindletop...
This Week in Petroleum History: September 14 – 20
September 14, 1871 - President Grant visits Pennsylvania Oil Regions - President Ulysses S. Grant and his family arrived at Titusville, Pennsylvania, on a special train. The 18th president thanked residents for the reception and noted it was his first visit to the...
This Week in Petroleum History: September 7 – 13
September 7, 1917 - Oilfield Legacy of Texas Governor Hogg - After drilling 20 "dry holes," the Tyndall-Wyoming Oil Company completed the No. 1 Hogg well 50 miles south of Houston. Within four months, a second well was producing about 600 barrels a day. The...
This Week in Petroleum History: Aug. 31 – Sept. 6
August 31, 1850 - San Francisco Utility manufactures Gas from Coal - The San Francisco Gas Company was incorporated in 1850 to produce and distribute manufactured gas extracted from coal. Irish immigrants Peter and James Donahue and engineer Joseph Eastland erected a...
This Week in Petroleum History, August 24 – 30
August 24, 1892 - "Prophet of Spindletop" founds Oil Exploration Company - Patillo Higgins, who would become known as the "Prophet of Spindletop," founded the Gladys City Oil, Gas & Manufacturing Company and leased 2,700 acres near Beaumont, Texas. Higgins...
History of oil and Gas
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