A Chronology of U.S. Oil & Gas
This Week in Petroleum History
This Week in Petroleum History: August 19 – 25
August 19, 1909 - Canadian Journal lampoons Standard Oil - "The Standard Oil Company has decided to drive the cow and the dairyman out of business," declared the Stanstead Journal of Quebec, reporting from Jersey City, New Jersey. "Its skilled chemists have...
This Week in Petroleum History: August 12 – 18
August 12, 1888 – Bertha Benz makes World’s First Auto Road Trip - Thirty-nine-year-old Bertha Benz made history when she became the first person to make a long-distance trip by automobile. Her adventure also included, “the first road repairs, the first automotive...
This Week in Petroleum History: August 5 – 11
August 5, 1882 - Rockefeller founds Standard Oil of New Jersey - Twelve years after launching Standard Oil Company of Ohio (bp America), John D. Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (ExxonMobil) as a refining and marketing arm of the Standard...
This Week in Petroleum History: July 29 – August 4
July 29, 1918 - "World's Wonder Oil Pool" discovered in Texas Less than a year after the "Roaring Ranger" discovered an oilfield to the south, the Fowler No. 1 well at the cotton farming community of Burkburnett, Texas, revealed a new giant field at a depth of 1,734...
This Week in Petroleum History: July 22 – 28
July 22, 1933 - Phillips Petroleum sponsors Flight around the World - Before 50,000 cheering New York City onlookers, former roughneck Wiley Post landed his Lockheed 5C Vega “Winnie Mae,” becoming the first person to fly solo around the world. Post had worked in...
This Week in Petroleum History: July 15 – 21
July 16, 1907 - Drilling Pioneer patents Casing Shoe - After drilling wells in Kern River oilfields, R. Carlton "Carl" Baker (1872-1957) of Coalinga, California, patented the Baker well-casing shoe. His cable-tool innovation at the bottom of the casing string...
This Week in Petroleum History: July 8 – 14
July 8, 1848 - Congress charters Gas Light Company - Four days after the laying of the Washington Monument cornerstone, an Act of Congress established the Washington Gas Light Company, which manufactured "town gas" for lighting and heat. The new utility constructed...
This Week in Petroleum History: July 1 – 7
July 1, 1919 - Top Independent Producers associate in Tulsa - The two-year-old Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association established its Kansas-Oklahoma Division in boom town Tulsa. Members were a "who’s who" of top independent oil and natural gas producers. Today the...
This Week in Petroleum History: June 24 – 30
June 24, 1937 - Traces of Oil found in Minnesota - In far western Minnesota, a remote wildcat well drilled in Traverse County began producing three barrels of oil a day from a depth of 864 feet. The unlikely discovery prompted more leasing, but no commercial...
This Week in Petroleum History: June 17 – 23
June 18, 1889 - Rockefeller builds Giant Refinery - Standard Oil Company of New Jersey incorporated a new subsidiary, Standard Oil Company of Indiana, and began processing oil at a new refinery in Whiting, Indiana, southeast of Chicago. The refinery, which became the...
History of oil and Gas
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