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Energy Education Resources
Petroleum History
This Week in Petroleum History -- updated every Monday
On July 20, 1920, in West Texas, the Permian Basin's first commercial well comes in at a depth of 2,745 feet. The Permian Basin today produces 17 percent of America's oil, about 327 million barrels per year, and contains an estimated 22 percent of proven U.S. oil reserves...
- On July 14, 1863, French tunnel engineer Rodolphe Leschot patents his "Tool for Boring Rock" -- a ring of industrial-grade diamonds fixed on the end of a tubular drill rod and designed to cut a cylindrical core...
- World oil prices reach a record high of $147.27 on July 11, 2008 -- driven by geopolitical concerns over Iran, according to BBC News.
- Oil is taxed for the first time on June 30, 1864, when Treasury Secretary Salmon Chase seeks revenue to pay for the Civil War...
- On July 2, 1910, as the U.S. Navy converts from coal to oil-burning ships, President Taft establishes three petroleum reserves...
Debate energy and fossil fuels -- the more than 150 years of social, economic and technological advances in an American industry that defined the 20th century should be studied. How else to make informed decisions about its role in the 21st century?
America's Exploration Heritage
Teaching oilfield technologies is fundamental to the historical society's network of museums, historians and energy educators. Two Google websites now include individual articles from the Petroleum Age -- and additional Petroleum History Resources, which has an updated list of State Contacts for educators and students.
These innovations allow the historical society to continue to expand its public outreach. Every day more young people are finding the links to resources at new websites. Please donate a tax-deductible contribution to support this effort.
 Museums explain the historic achievements of the modern energy business -- and an appreciation of geology, petroleum engineering and chemistry. Among the articles is Cantankerous Combustion -- describing America's first national automobile show in 1900. The most popular models proved to be electric, steam, and gasoline...in that order.
Popular Articles from the Petroleum Age
To understand the energy present, we must understand the energy past. Articles from the Petroleum Age examine the industry's social, economic and scientific heritage. Here are a few examples.
All Pumped Up -- When an oilman’s work pays off with a producing well, much remains to be done before the oil can make it to market. In 1859, “Colonel” Edwin Drake used a common water well hand pump to retrieve oil from 69.5 feet. It wasn’t long before necessity and ingenuity combined to find something more efficient. Oil wells will run dry, but advances in technologies can put off the inevitable. Read more...
Dramatic Oil Company -- Less than two years before he assassinated President Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth formed the "Dramatic Oil Company" with several of his acting friends. Believing his fortune would be made in the booming Pennsylvania oilfields, Booth left a Boston stage in 1864. After successfully drilling a well, Booth and his partners gambled to increase production by "shooting" their Venango County investment. The effort failed and Booth’s dreams of oil wealth abruptly collapsed. Read more...
Mabel's Eyelashes -- In 1872, Robert Augustus Chesebrough patented a method for turning unwanted goop from Pennsylvania oil wells into a balm he called Vaseline. It was a revolutionary petroleum product. In 1913, Thomas Williams became intrigued when his sister Mabel mixed it with a darkening agent, perhaps coal dust. Before long, he was selling "Lash-Brow-Ine" by mail-order catalogue. Read more...
Making Hole -- Drilling or "making hole" began long before oil or natural gas were anything more than flammable curiosities found seeping from the ground. Many fascinating technologies would evolve to pry into the earth’s secrets – and unlock deeper petroleum reserves. "Fishtail" bits became obsolete in 1909 when Howard Hughes Sr. introduced the twin-cone roller bit. History remembers several men who were trying to develop better drill bit technologies, but it was Hughes who made it happen. Read more...
Exploring Rigs to Reefs -- More than 4,500 offshore oil and natural gas platforms today supply 25 percent of the United States’ production of natural gas and 10 percent of its oil. Thanks to a program begun two decades ago, today’s offshore production benefits both the economy and the environment. "These platforms are better nursery habitat than the natural reefs in the area," says one expert. "They are contributing to the recovery of a severely depleted species in a significant way." Read more...
AOGHS Energy Education
 The Petroleum Age supports the American Oil & Gas Historical Society's education mission. The latest issues of this resource for teachers and students are posted.
The Society seeks new energy education partnerships. Please support our energy education network by downloading our donation form attachment at this secure Google website.
Popular with museum directors and volunteers, workshop practitioners, high school teachers and students, the society's Petroleum Age articles have been reprinted in many museum publications, state association newsletters, Hart’s E&P magazine, the American Gas Association’s American Gas magazine, the Association of Energy Service Contactor’s Well Servicing magazine, The American Oil & Gas Reporter, and local newspapers.
American Oil and Gas Historical Society, 1201 15th Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005 | Phone: (202) 857-4785. Fax: (202) 857-4799. © 2010 by Bruce Wells.
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