A Brief History of Oil

1
A Brief History of Oil

• From Titusville to today

2
Start of the Petroleum Era

• Col. Edwin Drake drills first wildcat well in
  Titusville, PA, 1859
• rock oil worth ½ as much as the whiskey barrels
  it was stored in
• Drake broke by 1866
• Drake Museum replica of 1st well

3
John D. Rockefeller

• Founded Standard Oil, 1870
• Major monopoly controlling all aspects
  exploration, drilling, shipping
• Possibly richest man ever
• Antitrust proceedings in early 1900s breaks up
  Standard
• Exxon-Mobil is largest survivor

4
Spindletop, Texas

• 1901 ushers in new era in U.S. oil industry with
  gusher in Texas
• Drama of the discovery
• Within months, Beaumonts population boomed from
  10,000 to 50,000
• Land that had cost 10/acre went for as much as
  900,000/acre!

5
The Automotive Era Begins

• Ford Model T produced from 1908-1927
• Broadens market for petroleum products
• Over 15 x 106 sold
• Affordableassembly line manufacturing led to
  price of 280

6
The Black Giant East Texas

• Columbus Dad Joiner shakes hands with his
  geologist Doc Lloyd, having discovered what was
  then the largest U.S. oil field, 1930.

7
U.S. Oil Mid-Century

• World War II (1939-1945) stabilizes price
• Fuel critical to war successgasoline for
  transports and tanks, high octane fuel for
  aircraft
• 1950-1970 Post-war economic growth fueled by
  petroleum

8
The First Major Oil Crisis
9
Oil in Recent Times

• 1980s New sources cause prices to fall
• 1990-1991 Iraq invades Kuwait, leads to first
  Gulf War prices rise, economy falters
• 1998 Inflation-adjusted oil price is at 50-year
  low
• 2005-6 Large price surge
• Its still The Prize

10
Wide Oil Price Swings
11
Oil Production Data

• U.S. Energy Information Administration