A Chronology of U.S. Oil & Gas
This Week in Petroleum History
This Week in Petroleum History: February 5 – 11
February 5, 1873 - Death of an Illegal Oil Well Shooter - Andrew Dalrymple, allegedly a frequent "moonlight oil well shooter" in the Tidioute, Pennsylvania, region, was killed in a nitroglycerin explosion at his home on Dennis Run, the Titusville Morning Herald...
This Week in Petroleum History: January 29 – February 4
January 29, 1850 – Kerosene Inventor patents Gasification Process - Canadian geologist Abraham Gessner received a U.S. patent for a gas manufacturing process, "to enable others skilled in the art...for obtaining of illuminating gas from compact and fluid bitumen...
This Week in Petroleum History: January 22 – 28
January 22, 1861 - Pennsylvania Refinery produces Kerosene - The first U.S. multiple-still refinery was brought on-stream one mile south of Titusville, Pennsylvania, by William Barnsdall, who had drilled the second successful well after Edwin Drake's first U.S. oil...
This Week in Petroleum History: January 15 – 21
January 17, 1911 - Oilfield Discovery leads to North Texas Boom - The Producers Oil Company discovered the Electra oilfield in North Texas, bringing the first commercial oil production to Wichita County. The Waggoner No. 5 well produced 50 barrels per day from a depth...
This Week in Petroleum History: January 8 – 14
January 8, 1903 - Sour Lake discovery leads to Texaco - Founded a year earlier in Beaumont, Texas, the Texas Company struck oil with its Fee No. 3 well, which flowed at 5,000 barrels a day, securing the company’s success in petroleum exploration, production,...
This Week in Petroleum History: January 1 – 7
January 1, 1973 - Esso becomes Exxon - After one year of test marketing the new name, Standard Oil of New Jersey became Exxon, officially replacing U.S. Esso brands and subsidiary Humble Oil and Refining's Enco brands. The nationwide rebranding applied to 28,600 Esso...
This Week in Petroleum History, December 25 to December 31
December 26, 1905 - Nellie Bly's Ironclad 55-Gallon Metal Barrel - Inventor Henry Wehrhahn of Brooklyn, New York, received two patents that would lead to the modern 55-gallon steel drum. He assigned both to his employer, the famous journalist Nellie Bly, who was...
This Week in Petroleum History, December 18 to December 24
December 18, 1929 - California Oil Boom in Venice - The Ohio Oil Company completed a wildcat well in Venice, California, on the Marina Peninsula, east of the Grand Canal, two blocks from the ocean. The oilfield discovery well produced 3,000 barrels of oil a day from...
This Week in Petroleum History, December 11 to December 17
December 11, 1950 - Federal Offshore grows beyond Cannon Shot - After decades of controversy and a 1947 U.S. Supreme Court decision, the federal government's “paramount rights” offshore were established beyond a three nautical mile limit, an 18th century precedent...
This Week in Petroleum History, December 4 to December 10
December 4, 1928 - First Oil Discovery using Reflection Seismography - Following tests in the early 1920s, reflection seismic technology was first used to find oil in Oklahoma when Amerada Petroleum Corporation drilled a well into the Viola limestone formation near...
History of oil and Gas
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