OLD FAITHFUL OF THE NORTH!
TODAY IN ENERGY HISTORY May 14, 2025 OLD FAITHFUL OF THE NORTH! The Dingman Discovery Well was struck on May 14, 1914, in Turner Valley, Alberta, and is widely considered the birthplace of Alberta’s oil and gas industry. This historic well was drilled by the Calgary Petroleum Products Company and led by geologist W.S. Herron […]
IXTOC 1 BLOWOUT IN THE GULF!
TODAY IN ENERGY HISTORY June 3, 2025 IXTOC 1 BLOWOUT IN THE GULF! On June 3, 1979, approximately 600 miles south of Texas, the deep exploratory well Ixtoc 1 suffered a blowout, caught fire, and began spilling oil into the ocean. The semi-submersible platform, leased by PEMEX, collapsed after the fire broke out, making efforts […]
DRILLING MORATORIUM!
TODAY IN ENERGY HISTORY March 7, 2025 DRILLING MORATORIUM! Ten days after the Santa Barbara oil spill, President Nixon imposed a moratorium on all drilling and production from offshore rigs in California waters. It wasn’t until April that limited activity resumed, with only five of the seventy-two leases allowed to restart drilling or production. While […]
UNION OIL BLOWOUT!
TODAY IN ENERGY HISTORY January 28, 2025 UNION OIL BLOWOUT! The Union Oil Company blowout in Santa Barbara Channel which resulted in a 800 sq mile oil slick covered an estimated 30 miles of Socal beaches. The blowout started January 28, 1969 and lasted 11 days while releasing approx. 80,000 barrels of oil, before Horizon […]
BP INCORPORATED 116 YEARS AGO!
TODAY IN ENERGY HISTORY April 14, 2025 BP INCORPORATED 116 YEARS AGO! On this day in history, April 14, 1909, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company—which would later become BP (British Petroleum)—was officially incorporated. Founded with the backing of the British government, the company secured oil concessions in Persia (modern-day Iran), marking the beginning of its rise […]
PRUDEHOE BAY OIL DISCOVERED!
TODAY IN ENERGY HISTORY March 12, 2025 PRUDEHOE BAY OIL DISCOVERED! Oil was discovered in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, on March 12, 1968, by ARCO and Exxon, revealing the largest oil field in North America and the 18th largest in the world. However, production didn’t begin until 1977, following the completion of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, […]
ALBERT EINSTEIN
TODAY IN ENERGY HISTORY March 14, 2025 ALBERT EINSTEIN On March 14, 1879, Albert Einstein was born—arguably the greatest physicist of our time. His groundbreaking work led to the discovery of the theory of relativity, forever changing our understanding of space and time. Born in Germany, Einstein immigrated to the U.S. in the 1930s due […]
HAPPY BIRTHDAY THOMAS EDISON!
TODAY IN ENERGY HISTORY February 11, 2025 HAPPY BIRTHDAY THOMAS EDISON! Thomas Edison, known as the “Wizard of Menlo Park,” held a world record of 1,093 patents despite being partially deaf. Among his groundbreaking inventions were the duplex telegraph and the light bulb, which he developed with financial backing from J.P. Morgan and the Vanderbilt […]
RUDOLF DIESEL
TODAY IN ENERGY HISTORY March 18, 2025 RUDOLF DIESEL Today, March 18, we celebrate the birthday of Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine in 1898. Born in Paris, France, Diesel revolutionized combustion technology by creating an engine far more efficient than steam engines, designed to run on various fuels without an ignition system. […]
TAPS FLOWING WITH CRUDE!
TODAY IN ENERGY HISTORY June 20, 2025 TAPS FLOWING WITH CRUDE! The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is an 800-mile-long pipeline that carries crude oil from Prudhoe Bay in northern Alaska to the marine terminal in Valdez on the southern coast. Construction of the pipeline began in 1974, following the 1968 discovery of oil at Prudhoe […]