A Chronology of U.S. Oil & Gas
This Week in Petroleum History
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...
This Week in Petroleum History: June 10 – 16
June 11, 1816 - Manufactured Gas lights Art Museum in Baltimore - The first commercial gas lighting of residences, streets and businesses began when Rembrandt Peale impressed Baltimore civic leaders by illuminating a room in his Holliday Street Museum by burning...
This Week in Petroleum History: June 3 – 9
June 3, 1979 - Bay of Campeche Oil Spill Drilling in about 150 feet of water, the semi-submersible platform Sedco 135 suffered a blowout 50 miles off Mexico's Gulf Coast. The state-owned company Pemex well Ixtoc 1 spilled 3.4 million barrels of oil before being...
This Week in Petroleum History: May 27 – June 2
May 27, 1893 - Oklahoma Historical Society founded Before Oklahoma became a state, the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) was founded during the annual meeting of the Oklahoma Territorial Press Association in Kingfisher. An early mission included collecting and...
This Week in Petroleum History: May 20 – 26
May 20, 1930 - Geophysicists establish Professional Society - Earth scientists in Houston established the Society of Economic Geophysicists to encourage the ethical practice of geophysics in the exploration and development of natural resources. The organization in...
This Week in Petroleum History: May 13 – 19
May 14, 1906 - Louisiana Law conserves Natural Gas - Joining the growing number of states producing natural gas, Louisiana enacted conservation measures to prevent waste. Lawmakers passed "an Act to Protect the Natural Gas Fields of this State” empowering the governor...
This Week in Petroleum History: May 6 – 12
May 7, 1920 - Halliburton founds Well Cementing Company in Oklahoma - As mid-continent oil and gas discoveries continued, Erle Palmer Halliburton founded the Halliburton Company as an oilfield well service and cementing company. The Wilson, Oklahoma, venture succeeded...
History of oil and Gas
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