A Chronology of U.S. Oil & Gas
This Week in Petroleum History
This Week in Petroleum History, November 23 to November 29
November 23, 1951 - Superman and the World’s Deepest Oil Well - Public fear of the risk of drilling wells too deep highlighted the theatrical release of Superman's first movie, "Superman and the Mole Men." The 1951 plot featured a fictional town that was “Home of the...
This Week in Petroleum History, November 16 to November 22
November 19, 1861 - American exports Oil for First Time - America exported petroleum for the first time when the merchant brig Elizabeth Watts departed the Port of Philadelphia for Great Britain. The Union vessel arrived in London 45 days later carrying a cargo of...
This Week in Petroleum History, November 9 to November 15
November 10, 1854 - Oil Seeps inspire First American Oil Well - America's petroleum industry began when a lumber company sold 105 acres along a Pennsylvania creek known for having oil seeps. George Bissell of New Hampshire, interested in what was then known as "rock...
This Week in Petroleum History, November 2 to November 8
November 2, 1902 - First Gas-Powered Locomobile delivered - Previously known for building steam-powered automobiles, the Locomobile Company of America delivered its first gasoline-powered "Locomobile" to a buyer in New York City. The company had hired Andrew Riker, a...
This Week in Petroleum History, October 26 to November 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 there. In 1950, the Lone Star Gas Company Vaught No. 1...
This Week in Petroleum History, October 19 to October 25
October 19, 1990 - First Emergency 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...
This Week in Petroleum History, October 12 to October 18
October 13, 1954 - First Arizona Oil Well - Arizona became the 30th petroleum producing state when Shell Oil Company completed its East Boundary Butte No. 2 well one mile south of the Utah border on Apache County's Navajo Indian Reservation. The well indicated...
This Week in Petroleum History, October 5 to October 11
October 5, 1915 - Science of Petroleum Geology reveals Oilfield - Using the careful study of geology for finding oil led to discovery of a major Mid-Continent field. Drilled by Wichita Natural Gas Company, a subsidiary of Cities Service Company, the well revealed the...
This Week in Petroleum History, September 28 to October 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, placing them under the control of the Secretary of the Interior. In August 1953,...
This Week in Petroleum History, September 21 to September 27
September 21, 1901 - First Louisiana Oil Well - Just nine months after the January 1901 "Lucas Gusher" at Spindletop, Texas, another historic oilfield was revealed 90 miles east in Louisiana. W. Scott Heywood - already successful thanks to wells drilled at Spindletop...
History of oil and Gas
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