HORSESHOW DAM BRINGS POWER!
TODAY IN ENERGY HISTORY May 21, 2025 HORSESHOW DAM BRINGS POWER! On May 21, 1911, the turbines at the Horseshoe Hydroelectric Plant were turned on for the first time. Following economic and population booms in Calgary and Alberta at the turn of the century, the city’s electric supply was under strain. In 1907, W.M. Alexander […]
MAGNOLIA PETROLEUM!
TODAY IN ENERGY HISTORY April 24, 2025 MAGNOLIA PETROLEUM! 10:30The Magnolia Petroleum Company was founded on April 24, 1911 as an expansion of the J.S. Cullinan Company. It quickly grew into a major regional producer, refiner, and marketer of petroleum products, with operations centered in the southwestern United States. In 1925, Magnolia became a subsidiary […]
COSRICANA BRINGS BOOM!
TODAY IN ENERGY HISTORY June 9, 2025 COSRICANA BRINGS BOOM! 10:27The Corsicana oil field was discovered on June 9, 1894, in Corsicana, Texas. The discovery came unexpectedly while workers were drilling for water for the city. At a depth of around 1,035 feet, they struck oil instead, marking the first commercial oil discovery in Texas. […]
MEDITERRANEAN DISASTER!
TODAY IN ENERGY HISTORY April 11, 2025 MEDITERRANEAN DISASTER! 10:23 On April 11, 1991, the oil tanker MT Haven suffered a catastrophic explosion and sank off the coast of Genoa, Italy, in what remains one of the worst oil spills in the Mediterranean. The vessel, a Cypriot-flagged tanker, was carrying 1,000,000 barrels of heavy Iranian […]
GENERAL COLOCOTRONIS, WRECKED!
TODAY IN ENERGY HISTORY March 7, 2025 GENERAL COLOCOTRONIS, WRECKED! 10:18On March 7, 1968, the crude oil tanker General Colocotronis ran aground on the east side of Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas while transporting approximately 119,000 barrels of Venezuelan crude oil. The wreck severely damaged the hull, leading to a spill of 37,000 barrels about […]
ATHENIAN VENTURE, SPLIT IN TWO!
TODAY IN ENERGY HISTORY April 22, 2025 ATHENIAN VENTURE, SPLIT IN TWO! On April 22, 1988, the Cypriot-registered tanker Athenian Venture was discovered by the Canadian research vessel Hudson approximately 400 miles southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland, split in two and engulfed in flames. The vessel had departed from Amsterdam, Netherlands, carrying about 250,000 barrels […]
ALVENUS SPILL
TODAY IN ENERGY HISTORY July 30, 2025 ALVENUS SPILL On July 30, 1984, at exactly 12:36 PM, the UK tanker Alvenus grounded in the Calcasieu River Bar Channel, about 11 miles southeast of Cameron, Louisiana. A massive structural failure ruptured the hull near the No. 2 tanks, spilling 65,500 barrels of Venezuelan Merey and Pilon […]
NEVADA’S FIRST WELL
TODAY IN ENERGY HISTORY February 12, 2025 NEVADA’S FIRST WELL 08:11 On February 12, 1954, Eagle Springs No. 1 in Nye County became Nevada’s first commercial oil producer. The field eventually grew to 14 wells, each producing around 20,000 barrels per year by 1968. However, due to plummeting oil prices, most wells were shut in […]
OCEAN RANGER DISASTER
TODAY IN ENERGY HISTORY February 14, 2025 OCEAN RANGER DISASTER 08:08 On February 14, 1982, while drilling at Hibernia well J-34, the rig had 84 crew members aboard. At 8:00 a.m., it received a forecast of an incoming winter storm with 90-knot winds and 37-foot waves. The crew continued drilling until around 4:30 p.m., when […]
NEW SOLAR TECH!
TODAY IN ENERGY HISTORY February 5, 2025 NEW SOLAR TECH! 08:06 On this day, February 5, 1957, the patent for the solar energy converting apparatus was officially published. Originally filed on March 5, 1954, by Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller, and Gerald Pearson, this groundbreaking invention utilized silicon to convert solar rays into usable energy. After […]