|
Geo-Help Inc |
|
The Geology link for the Canadian Oil and Gas Industry - providing Geological Expertise and Information Services. |
History of the World Petroleum Industry (Key Dates)
A chronological summary of some of the key events impacting the evolution of the world petroleum industry, significant world events that had a major impact on the oil industry are indicated in dark red.
References are listed at the end of the summary. A search of keywords using a search engine will provide further information. Your feedback regarding errors or omissions is welcome!
Go to 2008
450BC - Herodotus described oil pits near Babylon
325BC - Alexander the Great used flaming torches of petroleum products to scare his enemies
c100AD - Plutarch described oil bubbling from the ground near Kirkuk in present day Iraq
347AD - Chinese reported to have drilled holes in ground using bamboo to extract oil
1264 - Marco Polo recorded visiting the Persian city of Baku, on the shores of the Caspian Sea in modern Azerbaijan, he saw oil being collected from seeps for use in medicine and lighting..
1500s - Oil from seeps in the Carpathian Mountains in Poland was burned in street lamps to provide light in the Polish town of Krosno.
1801 - First coal powered steam engine
1807 - Streets of London lit by coal oil
1814 - One of the first wells that produced oil which was marketed was drilled near Marietta, Ohio, in 1814 (Hildreth 1833, p. 64). Well was actually drilled for salt water, the oil was a useless by-product which often spoiled the well. This Ohio well was almost 500 feet deep and produced about a barrel or so of oil per week, which was worth about 50 - 75 cents/gallon.*
1818 - In southeastern Kentucky another salt well produced oil. It was known as the "Beatty Well," named after the owner of the land on which it was drilled (Shepherd 1988). The site is on the banks of the South Fork of the Cumberland River, and the well produced upwards of 100 barrels/day according to some reports. By 1820, oil from this well was being shipped to Europe as well as several other southern states. Thus the Beatty Well seems to be the first drilled well which produced commercial oil in North America.*
1816 - Start of the US manufactured gas industry - the Gas Light Company of Baltimore
1821 - First commercial natural gas production and use in Fredonia, New York - well drilled to 27' and gas piped through hollow logs to adjacent houses
1849 - Abraham Gesner developed a method for distilling kerosene from crude oil
1857 - Development of the kerosene lamp - provided clean burning light
1857 - First drilling of oil wells at Bend, northeast of Bucharest, on the Romanian side of the Carpathians.
1858 - First oil well in North America at Oil Springs in Ontario, Canada
1859 - Col. Edwin Drake struck oil 69ft below the surface of the ground in Titusville, Pennsylvania.
1861 - First recorded shipping of oil between countries - from Pennsylvania to London on the sailing ship 'Elizabeth Watts'
1862 - de Rochas of France patented the four stroke engine
1863 - J.D.Rockefeller founded an oil refining company in Cleveland
1870 - J.D.Rockerfeller formed Standard Oil (Ohio).- controlled 10% of American oil refining
1872 - Rockerfeller took over 22 of his competitors (The Cleveland Massacre) to increase Standard Oil share of market to 25%
1877 - Rockerfeller controlled 90% of American refining
1878 - First oil drilling at Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela
1879 - Thomas Edison invents the electric light bulb
1882 - Standard Oil Trust formed
1885 - Oil discovered in Sumatra by Royal Dutch
1892 - Standard Oil Company of Ohio broken up by Federal Regulators
1893 - First well drilled in Los Angeles
1895 - Extraction of bitumen from bituminous sand using hot water at Carpenteria, California
1895 - John D. Rockerfeller retired
1895 - Invention of combustion engine
1896 - Henry Ford's first motor car
1900
1901 - Spindletop gusher, blew out on January 10, 1901 near Beaumont in East Texas, drilled by Captain Anthony Lucas it heralded the birth of the Texas oil industry - Gulf and Texaco.
1902 - Ida Tarbell begins campaign against the monopoly and questionable practices of the Standard Oil Trust - published a series of articles in McClure's Magazine (1902-1904)
1903 - Wright Brothers first flight
1903 - Ford Motor Company founded
1905 - Baku oilfields set on fire during Russian Revolution
1906 - Federal Government filed suit against Standard Oil under the Antitrust Act.
1907 - Shell (British) and Royal Dutch merged to form Royal Dutch Shell
1908 - Oil discovered in Persia, Anglo Persian Oil company formed (Later BP)
1910 - First oil discovery in Mexico at Tampico on the Gulf Coast
1910 - US Congress authorised legislation to set aside land as Naval Petroleum Reserves.
1911 - Break up of Standard Oil Trust orderd by Supreme Court* (See end for further detail)
1912 - Land in California (Elk Hills and Buena Vista Hills) as Naval Petroleum Reserves No. 1 & 2.
1914-1918 - World War I, the first conflict where control of oil supply really mattered - needed for tanks, ships and planes. British Forces captured Baghdad in 1917.
1915 - Teapot Dome Wyoming established as Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 3
1916 - Naval Oil Shale Reserves established in Colorado and Utah
1920
1921 - First experiment of using seismic waves to image the subsrface - at Vines Branch in south central Oklahoma by William Haseman, Clarence Karcher, Irvine Perrine and Daniel Ohern
1924 - Teapot Dome scandal - political manipulation in providing 'friends' with the right to develop the US Naval Oil Reserves resulted in the resignation of the Secretary of the Interior (Albert Fall) and Secretary of the Navy (Edwin Denby).
1929 - Start of Great Depression
1930
1930 - East Texas Oilfield discovered by 'Dad' Joiner
1931 - Conrad and Marcel Schlumberger sucessfully identify presence of oil in a formation by measuring resistivity
1932 - Oil discovered in Bahrain
1933 - Saudi Arabia granted oil concessions to Standard of California - became California Arabian Standard Oil Company (Casoc)
1936 - Texaco took a 50% share in Casoc
1938 - Mexico nationalizes foreign oil companies, all assets placed under the control of Pemex
1938 - Oil discoverd in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia
1939-1945 - World War II - control of oil supply from Baku and Middle East played a huge role in the events of the war and the ultimate victory of the allies. Cutting off the oil supply considerably weakened Japan in the latter part of the war.
1940
1942 - Japan invaded Indonesia for access to their oil reserves
1944 - Casoc became Aramco (Arabian American Oil Company)
1948 - Ghawar Field discovered in Saudi Arabia - the largest conventional oil field in the world (about 80 billion barrels)
1950
1950 - Aramco agreement with Saudi Arabia
1951 - Anglo Iranian Oil Company nationalized
1954 - Anglo-Persian Oil Company renamed British Petroleum
1955 - Egypt nationalised the Suez Canal
1956 - Suez Crisis - Britain, France and Israel attempted to regain control of Suez Canal
1956 - Oil discovered in Algeria and Nigeria
1959 - Natural gas discovered in Groningen Field, Netherlands
1959 - Arab Oil Congress in Cairo - a 'gentleman's agreement' for oil producing countries to have a greater influence on oil production and marketing.
1960
1960 - OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) founded in Baghdad - Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran. *See end for current member countries.
1967 - Six day War between Israel and the Arab world, Suez Canal closed
1967 - Great Canadian Oil Sands Ltd (later Suncor) began production of tar sands north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada - first commercial production of the largest oil resource in the world.
1968 - Oil discovered on North slope of Alaska
1969 - Qaddafi seizes power in Libya
1969 - Santa Barbara oil spill, 6 miles offshore from Summerland, California. Created major backlash against industry.
1969 - Oil discovered in North Sea
1970
1971 - Libya, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Iraq negotiate price increase from $2.55 to $3.45 per barrel
1971 - OPEC Countries begin nationalising oil assets. - Libya nationalizes BP concession
1971 - US oil production peaked
1972 - Iraq nationalizes Iraq Petroleum Concession
1973 - Iran nationalizes oil assets
1973 - Saudi Governement acquired a 25% interest in Aaramco
1973 - Yom Kippur War - Egypt and Syria attacked Israel
1973 - Arab oil embargo on oil exports to the US for siding with Israel in the Yom Kippur War - oil prices rise from $2.90 to $11.65.
1974 - (March) Arab oil embargo on oil exports to the US lifted
1975 - Venezuelan oil industry nationalised
1975 - First oil production from North Sea
1975 - Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) authorised in US - to store an emergency supply of oil in salt domes
1976 - Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve, California opened for commercial production
1977 - Alaska oil pipeline completed
1978 - Amoco Cadiz runs aground off French Coast
1979 - First significant coalbed methane drilling by Amoco in San Juan Basin, USA
1979 - Shah of Iran deposed, Ayatollah Khomeini takes power
1979 - Three Mile Island - Nuclear power plant accident
1979 - Saddam Hussein becomes President of Iraq
1979 - (June) Blowout at Ixtoc 1 in the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf of Mexico - brought under control in March 1980 - largest single oil spill
1979 - November - Iran takes US hostages
1979-1981 - Oil prices rise from $13.00 to $34.00
1980
1980 - Saudis bought out the balance of Aramco from US oil companies
1980 - Iraq launches war against Iran
1982 - OPEC's first quotas
1984 - Gulf Oil acquired by Chevron after a bidding war with Arco
1986 - Oil prices collapse
1986 - Chernobyl - Nuclear power plant accident
1986 - 87 - "Tanker War" between Iran and Iraq - destroying oil tankers in Persian Gulf
1987 - Naval Oil Shale Reserve transferred to the Ute Indians.
1988 - Cease fire in Iran-Iraq War
1989 - March - Exxon Valdez aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska
1990
1990 - August - Iraq invades Kuwait, UN embargo on Iraq
1991 - January - Gulf War - Operation Desert Storm, Kuwait oilfields set alight
1991 - November - Soviet Union collapses
1995 - UN resolution to allow partial resumption of Iraq oil exports in "oil for food" deal.
1997 - Qatar inaugurates the world's first significant liquid natural gas (LNG) exporting facility
1997 - Kyoto Agreement proposed to limit greenhouse gases
1998 - Asian economic crisis
1998 - 50 year moratorium on mining and oil exploration in Antarctica approved
1998 - Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve sold to Occidental Petroleum for $3.65 billion.
1998 - BP announces plans to acquire Amoco for $48.2 billion
1998 - Exxon to acquire Mobil for $75.4 billion
1999 - Atlantic Richfield (Arco) acquired by BPAmoco
1999 - US Sanctions against Libya lifted
1999 - Total Fina and Elf Aquitaine agree to merge
1999 - Panama Canal reverts to Panamanian authority
1999 - Y2K has the world holding it's breath - quickly turns to a yawn!
2000
2001 - September 11th - Terrorist attacks on the United States
2002 - Construction started on Bosphorus bypass pipeline bringing oil from Baku to the Mediterranean
2002 - Conoco and Phillips merged to form ConocoPhillips.
2002 - US threatens invasion of Iraq to stop development of WMD's (Weapons of Mass Destruction).
2002 - (November) - UN weapons inspectors return to Iraq.
2002 - (November) - Oil tanker Prestige sunk off NW coast of Spain
2002 - (December) - Chevron-Texaco planning LNG receiving facility on Gulf Coast (800Mmcf/d increasing to 1.6Bcf/d)
2002 - (December) - National strike in Venezuela shuts down Venezuelan oil production
2003 - (February) - BP to purchase 50% interest in TNK - the 4th largest Russian oil company
2003 - Talisman sells holdings in Sudan following pressure from civil rights groups.
2003 - US Senate rejects proposal to allow oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ( ANWR ) in northern Alaska
2003 - (March 19-20) -US led invasion of Iraq begins - to overthrow Saddam Hussein and prevent the spread of WMD's.
2003 - (April 9) - US take Baghdad
2003 - (May 21) - Alan Greenspan acknowledges that the low level of natural gas supplies is "a very serious problem" in a Presentation to Congress' Joint Economic Committee.
2003 - (Aug 14) - Major electrical failure causes blackout in New York State and Ontario.
2003 - (Sept) - Mikhail Khodorkovsky, CEO of Yukos Oil Co (largest Russian oil company) arrested
2003 (Dec 23) - Sour gas blow-out in Chongqing, SW China, kills 234 people
2004 (Jan 20) - Explosion at an LNG plant in Algeria halts oil production
2004 (July) - US oil imports at a record 11.3MMBO per day
2004 - (Nov) George Bush re-elected President in USA
2004 (Oct 25) - Oil at a record price of $55.67 US per barrel on concerns over high demand and possible supply disruptions in the Middle East and damage on the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Ivan .
2004 (Dec) - Renationalising of Russian oil industry continued with Rosneft acquiring the largest unit of OAO Yukos Oil Co. Yukos has been forced into bankruptcy due to non payment of taxes.
2004 - Oil production in UK sector of North Sea declined by 10% in 2004.
2005
2005 (Mar 30) - Goldman Sachs suggest oil could spike to $105 US per barrel
2005 (Mar 31) - Oil briefly exceeds $58 US per barrel on continued strong demand and concern over supply
2005 (Apr 4) - Chevron-Texaco offer to buy Unocal Corp for $16.4 Billion
2005 (Apr) - Gulf Gateway Energy Bridge Deepwater Port opened - the first offshore LNG receiving facility and the first new LNG regasification facility to be built in the USA in 20 years.
2005 (June 23) - China State Oil Co offers $18.5 Billion for Unocal Corp, (offer withdrawn in August)
2005 (July 4) - First import of LNG to United Kingdom in 20 years as North Sea natural gas production declines
2005 (July 7) - Terrorist attacks in London - 4 bombs - 3 planted on Underground, 1 on a London bus.
2005 (July 24) - Iran and Iraq sign a cooperative oil trading agreement
2005 (Aug) - Chevron Corp acquisition of Unocal Corp finalised
2005 (Aug 29) - Hurricane Katrina strikes the Gulf Coast of the US with devastating results
2005 (Aug 29) - Oil reaches $70.80 US per Bbl.
2005 (Sept 19) - Natural gas (NYMEX) at all time high of $12.33US on fears of new storm approaching Gulf of Mexico.
2005 (Sept 23) - Hurricane Rita strikes Gulf Coast
2005 (Dec 13) - Natural gas price hits a record high of $15.65US/mmbtu in the United States
2005 (Dec 13) - Conoco Philips and Burlington Resources to merge in a deal valued at $35.6US Billion
2006
2006 (Jan 1) - Russia attempts to penalise the Ukraine by blocking gas sales - the effort failed after a few days.
2006 (Jun 23) - Anadarko Petroleum Corp offers US$21.1Billion for Kerr McGee Corp and Western Gas Resources Inc.
2006 (July 13) - Oil hits a record high of $78.40/bbl on New York Mercantile Exchange on supply and world political concerns - nuclear tensions in Iran and supply concerns in Iraq, Nigeria, Gulf of Mexico; missile testing by North Korea and flare ups between Israel and Lebanon.
2006 (Aug 6) - BP to shut-in part of the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field, Alaska to replace corroded pipelines, resulting in accusations of poor maintenance procedures.
2006 (Aug 18) - Mexico receives first shipment of Liquefied Natural Gas at its Altamira Terminal near Tampico in NE Mexico, LNG to be used for power generation.
2006 (Sept) - Russia exerting nationalistic pressures on multi-national oil companies - Shell, Exxon and ConocoPhillips
2006 (Dec 18) - Statoil and Norsk Hydro to merge to create a $92.3Billion enterprise.
2006 (Dec 22) - Gazprom to buy half of the Sakhalin-2 project from Shell and partners for $7.45Billion - continuing Russian efforts to have more control over their industry.
2007
2007 (Jan 8) - Russia turns off flow of oil through Belarus to Eastern Europe on accusations that Belarus was illegally taking their oil.
2007 (Jan 8) - Venezuela planning to nationalise oil refineries
2007 (Mar) - European Union introduced new environmental regulations to reduce GHG emissions by 20% by 2020
2007 (Mar 23) - Oil prices rise on tension over Iran capture of 15 British soldiers reportedly strayed into Iranian waters. Released on 4th April resulting in oil prices falling back.
2007 (Mar 27) - Venezuela deal with China National Petroleum Corp to export more oil to China instead of US.
2007 (Apr 9) - GECF - Gas Exporting Countries Forum met in Qatar - a group of gas exporting countries countries led by Russia with plans to 'strengthen ties towards cooperation and stability in natural gas markets. - Possibly the start of an 'OPEC' for gas?
2007 (May 1) - Venezuela nationalizes part of oil industry by taking over operating control of oilfields operated by ConocoPhillips, Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, Statoil and Total.
2007 (May 31) - May LNG imports to USA highest ever at 3.1Bcf/d. Compared to 2006 average of 1.6Bcf/d.
2007 (July 9) - StatOil and Norsk Hydro to merge
2007 (Oct 5) - Ecuador announces plan to increase royalties from 50% to 99% on oil and gas prices above a contractual benchmark
2007 (Nov 20) - WTI oil price futures hit a record close of $99.29US driven by supply concerns and weakness in the US dollar
2008 (Jan 2) - WTI oil price briefly touches US$100 per barrel for the first time driven by supply concerns and the weak US dollar
2008 (Mar 18) - Venezuela announces plans to price more of its oil sales in Euros to protect against the drop in value of the US dollar
2008 (Apr 8) - BP and Conoco Phillips announce plans to develop an Alaska gas pipeline - in competition to the previously announced plan led by TranCanada Pipeline.
2008 (May 22) - Crude oil hits a record high of $135.09 per barrel on continued concern over supplies and the weak US dollar
References:
Many different resources have been tapped for this information.
Particularly useful resources include:
National newspapers, periodicals, newswire services, Nickel's Daily Oil Bulletin.
Economides, M. and Oligney, R., The Color of Oil, 2000.
Epstein, L. et al. The Politics of Oil, 2003 - from the 'Complete idiot's Guide' Series gives a very good summary of the issues and opposing forces and ideologies behind the world oil industry.
Sampson, A., The Seven Sisters*, 1975.
Tertzakian, P., A Thousand Barrels a Second, 2006.
US Department of Energy - World Oil Market and Oil Price Chronologies: 1970 -1999
Yergin, D., The Prize - The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power, 1992 - this book has a good chronology of significant events and excellent Bibliography.
* Pers Com. from Joyce Hunt quoting information from W. Brice of the Petroleum History Institute, Dec 2007.
The Break-up of Standard Oil Trust in 1911 - The empire of John D. Rockefeller broken up by court order to create: Standard Oil of New Jersey, Standard Oil of New York, Standard Oil of California, Standard Oil of Ohio (later taken over by BP), Standard of Indiana (became Amoco), Continental Oil (became Conoco), Atlantic Oil (became Arco).
* The Seven Sisters - first used in the 1950's in it's current context by Enrico Mattei, President of AGIP - the Italian National Oil Company - "Le Sette Sorelle". They had a love-hate relationship that dominated the oil industry through to the 1970's:
Exxon (Standard Oil of New Jersey) Mobil (Socony - Standard Oil of New York) and Socal (Standard Oil of California - later Chevron) - Companies evolving from breakup of Standard Oil in 1911. Gulf and Texaco evolved from the discovery of Spindletop in Texas in 1901. Shell and BP were British based companies whose interest in world oil expanded with the Empire.
Note how the "Sisters" have changed in the past 20 years:
Exxon and Mobil have merged, Gulf was acquired by Chevron and Texaco has disappeared in a series of deals. So the Seven Sisters are now 4: ExxonMobil, Chevron-Texaco, BP (British Petroleum which acquired Amoco and Arco and now christened "Beyond Petroleum") and Shell. Connoco-Phillips and Total-Fina-Elf have possibly become step sisters(?).
OPEC Member Countries: Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela