Oil in History
History of Offshore Oil
Extraction
The need for
light…
The petroleum industry grew through the 1800s ~ becoming
a leading
1st commercial
international industry as the 20th century progressed.
oil well drilled
Saudiin
Arabia
Poland.
Today’s top 3 oil producing countries:
1858
1st North
American
oil well
drilled in
Ontario,
Canada
2000 +
1961
1950s
1946
Timeline
1937
1896
1891
1858
1853
Russia
United States
80% of the world’s accessible reserves are in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Iraq
Qatar
Kuwait
5 years later in 1896 ~ 1st ocean submerged oil wells drilled in California.
1891 oil was found
off-shore.
2000 +
1961
1950s
1946
1937
1896
1891
1858
1853
The 1st submerged
wells were drilled
from platforms in
Ohio.
Kansas 1911 ~
note all the wooden barrels.
1919 Tanker used by Texaco
1911~ 1st true “off-shore” oil rig set on a fixed
platform in 14 feet of water
(but only 1 mile off-shore).
In 1933 the process of
locating oil
(exploratory drilling)
was revolutionized when
a barge-mounted rig was
designed to be moved
from one location to the
next with relative ease.
2000 +
1961
1950s
1930s
1911
1896
1891
1858
1853
This was the first mobile
drilling unit.
1947
1st
“beyond the horizon”
oil rig.
11 fields
By 1949,
exploratory wells.
were found in the Gulf of Mexico with 44
Compared to today…
3,858
active platforms
CUSS 1 drillship
2000 +
1961
1950s
drillship
1930s
1911
1896
1891
1858
1853
Semi-submersible platform
Deepwater Horizon
was a
semi-submersible
oil rig.
There are
specific
platforms
that
perform
better in
particular
water
depths.
Harsh conditions ~ remote locations
Environmental risks
Largest Offshore Oil Rig Spills
Montara, Australia, 2009:
An oil well in the Timor Sea,
off the coast of Western
Australia, began leaking, and
the platform subsequently
caught fire. The well spewed
oil for more than two months,
leaking as much as 2,000
barrels a day (6,216,000
gallons) for 74 days before it
was capped, making it one of
the worst spills in Australian
history.
Nowruz oil field, Persian Gulf, 1983:
A tanker hit a rig off the coast of
Iran, and the rig began leaking
1,500 barrels a day. Because Iran
and Iraq were at war, the oil flow
was not stopped, and the platform
was later attacked by Iraqi
warplanes. Later, a second platform
was attacked, and initially spilled
5,000 barrels a day before slowing
to 1,500. Two years passed before
Iran capped the wells, but by then
over 733,000 barrels (30,786,000
gallons) of oil spilled into the
Persian Gulf.
Santa Barbara, Calif., 1969:
A blowout at a well five miles off
the coast of Santa Barbara caused
a leak that flowed for 11 days and
80,000 to 100,000 barrels
(46,200,000 gallons) were
released. According to a report by
the University of California, Santa
Barbara, the spill affected 800
square miles of ocean and coated
35 miles of coastline with oil.
Ixtoc I oil spill, Gulf of Mexico, 1979:
Generally considered the fourth
largest oil spill in history, the Ixtoc
spill occurred when the Mexican
state-owned Pemex was drilling an
exploratory well in shallow water in
the Bay of Campeche. The Ixtoc
suffered a blowout, and more than 3
million barrels (126,000,000 gallons)
of oil gushed from the well for more
than nine months before engineers
were able to cap it. The spill
contaminated more than 162 miles
of beach in Texas.
Gulf of Mexico, 2010:
The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig
exploded due to a methane gas
release on April, 20, 2010,
immediately killing 11 and injuring
17 platform workers. On July 15,
2010, the leak was stopped,
however 206 million gallons of oil
had already spilled into the Gulf. In
addition to the oil, more than 1.8
million gallons of dispersant were
released into the Gulf.
List of Oil Spills:
•http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oil_spills