History of Energy: Ancient Petroleum Exploitation and Modern Petroleum Industry

As early as in the 10th century BC, ancient civilizations such as Ancient Egypt, Babylon, and India had collected natural asphalt for construction, preservation, bonding, decoration, and pharmaceuticals. The ancient Egyptians could even estimate the amount of oil that leaked from oil seedlings. . Cuneiform writing also includes records of the collection of natural oils on the shores of the Dead Sea. "It binds the walls of Jericho and Babylon, and the baskets of Noah's Ark and Moses may be waterproofed with bituminous joints according to the custom of the day."

In the 5th century AD, near the Susa capital of the Persian Empire, man-made oil wells were discovered. The earliest use of oil for war was also in the Middle East. The book “Oil, Money, Power” stated that Homer’s “Iliad” wrote about “The Trojans kept firing the fire on the Clippers, and that the ship raised a flame that was difficult to extinguish.” When the king of Persia, Segos, prepared to seize Babylon, he was reminded that the Babylonians were likely to fight in the street. Samuels said he could use fire. "We have lots of asphalt and crushed flax, which can quickly lead the fire to all directions. Those on the roof of the house either leave quickly or are swallowed up by the fire."

In the 7th century AD, the Byzantines mixed with crude oil and lime, ignited and then shot long-range with bows and arrows or hand-throwing to attack the enemy's ships.

Baku in Azerbaijan is rich in oil seedlings and air seedlings. The inhabitants collected oil from the oil seedlings as fuel very early on and used it to treat camel skin diseases. In 1937, there were 52 man-powered oil extraction pits, which increased to 82 in 1827, but the output was very small.

In Europe, from Germany's Bavaria, Italy's Sicily and Po Valleys, to Poland's Galicia and Romania, since the Middle Ages, there have been reports of oil seeping from the ground. And use crude oil as a "panacea." Farmers in Galicia and Romania have long dig wells for oil production.

It was not Americans who first extracted kerosene for lighting from crude oil, but Europeans. In the 1940s and 50s, a pharmacist in Lviv made a kerosene lamp with the help of a blacksmith. In 1854, kerosene for lamps has become a commodity on the Vienna market. In 1859, Europe produced 36,000 barrels of crude oil, mainly from Galicia and Romania.

China is one of the first countries in the world to discover and use oil. In the Han Dynasty written by Ban Gu (32-92 AD) in the Eastern Han Dynasty, “High Slaves are flammable”. Gaonuo is near the current extension of Shaanxi, and Xishui is a tributary of Yanhe. "There is fertilizer on the water, and it can be used for it" (see the "Water Sutra Notes" by the Northern Wei Dynasty). Here the "fat" refers to the oil. Around the year 863 AD, Duan Chengwu's "Yangyang Miscellan" recorded in the Tang Dynasty that "Gaolu County's stone fat water, watery floating water, such as lacquer, was used for picking cars and burning lights. It was extremely clear." The Western Jin Dynasty's "Natural History" (written in 267) and the "Sutra Commentary" all recorded "Nanshan Spring Water from Yanshou County, Jiuquan, Gansu Province." The water is fat, such as gravy. It is extremely flaming and no different from the paste. The paste car and the water tank are very good. The others call it the stone paint."

It can be seen that more than 800 years ago, our ancestors collected crude oil spilled from oil seedlings in places such as Shaanxi and Gansu Hexi Corridor to illuminate and lubricate the axles and stern shafts.

Song Kuo's Shen Kuo in the "Meng Xi Bi Tan", for the first time this natural mineral is called "oil", pointing out that "oil is at most, born in the infinite in the earth." He tried to make ink from the soot produced by the combustion of crude oil. "Black light is like paint, and loose ink is not." Shen Kuo and prophesied: "This object will go out of the world." He has foreseen that oil will be of great use in the future.

By the Yuan Dynasty, Yuan Yi Tongzhi described that “the Yan River South Ying River had a hole to open oil and pick up the kiln. Its oil was combustible, and it also managed six livestock crickets. There is a well in Yongpyeong Village, which is four hundred pounds old and is located in the Yanfeng Library." He also said, “Oil, in Shijing, Yaoqu Village, Xishiili, Yijun County, was taken from the water. Although the gas smells and smells, it can be used to treat hamsters and goats.” explains that about 800 years ago, northern Shaanxi had Formally hand-drilled wells have been expanded to treat livestock dermatoses and purchased by the authorities.

In the Ming dynasty, it was more common for well drilling in Sichuan. He Yudu wrote in the article entitled "Yibu Tanzi", "oil wells are located in Jiazhou, Meizhou, Qingshen, Jingyan, Hongya, and Luan as counties." Cao Xuezheng wrote in the “Zhongzhong Guangji”: “In the 21st year of the Zhengde Period of the Kingdom, the salt wells in Jiazhou were opened. Even if they had oil and water, they could take the nights.” “Reopened a number of wells, the chief of the lawsuit.” This is more than 400 years ago.

As early as in the Three Kingdoms period, natural asphalt had been used in the war to create "fireballs" and "fireballs" as weapons. During the Northern Song Dynasty, a special "fire oil" was created, which was a workshop for producing "fire oil."

The use of ancient oil was mainly concentrated in several ancient civilizations, and the modern oil industry in the world was born in the United States. It was precisely born next to the Oil Creek in Titusville, Pennsylvania.

At that time, there were many oil seedlings outcropping. In 1851, Francis Brewer hired people to dig pits to collect oil and supply him with other people's joint-operated lumber mills for fuel and lighting. In 1854 he founded the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, bought a Hilpad farm where oil seedlings were located, and sold the extracted crude oil for sale. This may be the first oil company in the United States and even the world. In March 1858, the company was reorganized into the Senica Oil Company and one of its shareholders was sent. The former train conductor Edwin L. Drake went to Titusville to host the company. Expand crude oil production. Drake said after on-site inspection that using the drilling method of drilling a well to drill oil is more efficient and less costly than manual digging. He ordered a 6-horsepower steam engine-powered percussion rig, hired Smith, a well-to-do drilling smith, to drill a well near the oil seedlings and spilled oil on August 27, 1859 when it reached 21 meters. So on the steam pumping, 30 barrels a day. (equivalent to an annual output of 1,500 tons). On September 13, the newspaper reported the news. Oil fever appeared beside the oil stream.

The Drake Well is not the first well drilled in the world, nor is it the earliest discovered oil field in the world. In 1857, Romania discovered the Mojersti oil field; in 1858, the Lambton oilfield was discovered in Canada, and the Klečany oil field was found in Poland. Why did the United States set the well as the birth date and birthplace of the world's modern oil industry?

Modern industry must be premised on mechanization. It is distinguished from manual labor. Drake Wells is the first well drilled with a machine and uses a machine to pump oil.

To produce oil, it must be scaled up first. If only a few wells are drilled in a place and a small amount of crude oil is produced, it is not an industry. After the production of Drake wells, an oil boom was formed around the oil brooks in Binzhou. Many people drilled to find oil. In 15 months, 75 oil wells were drilled; in just three years, oil production was achieved. It reached 3 million barrels (41 tons). Taking this as the center, the United States produced 5.26 million barrels in 1870 and 45.82 million barrels in 1890.

After Drake's well came out of the oil, dozens of refineries were quickly built near the oil district, competing for the use of crude oil for refining kerosene for lamps. In Titusville and even in the Chicago area, oil tanks, storage tanks, railway and barge transport, drilling teams, drilling tools, and repair plants... have formed numerous affiliate groups.

The country that has been exploiting oil early on in the world is not only the United States. Why is the development and growth of the oil industry in the United States so fast? There are many factors at work here and they promote each other.

The great oil district of Appalachia has superior natural conditions, rich oil reserves and shallow burial. The depth of the Drake well is only 20 meters. It is not difficult to drill crude oil by drilling technology at the time. In addition, the surface oil seedlings have more outcrops. Without the guidance of geologists, drilling near oil seedlings has a high success rate.

Before Drake Wells oiled out, oil refining technology has broken through and distillation kettles can be used to convert crude oil into lamp kerosene. Kerosene is popular as a lighting alternative to rosin and whale oil. The oil region is close to the developed eastern region of the United States. It is densely populated and has a large demand for oil products; water and land transportation are developed, which prepares a market for the formation and development of the oil industry.

At that time, the United States was becoming industrialized. Its eastern region had developed industries. The rise of the oil industry supported a large number of steel materials and machinery manufacturing (steam engines, rigs, iron pipes, etc.). On the contrary, with the rise of the oil industry, the petroleum service industry soon emerged.

The American Civil War of 1861-1865 greatly promoted the development of this new industry in the oil industry. The book “Oil, Money, and Power” stated that after the war, “hundreds of thousands of war veterans poured into the oil fields to start a new life and find a way to make money. At this time, the price of oil had risen to 13.5 US dollars per barrel, resulting in a Speculative boom." "The war cut off the turpentine transport line from the west and caused a serious shortage of turpentine oil (the main lighting material at that time). The kerosene refined by Pennsylvania quickly filled this vacancy and opened up the northern market faster." “The war has a more important impact. Because of the separation of the South, the North cannot continue to share the income from the export of cotton (22485, 1275.00, 6.01%). The rapid increase in oil exports to Europe made up for this loss and became an income. New source."

The Appalachian oil-rich region has developed water and land transportation. Crude oil produced is packed in wooden beer kegs, or it can be taken by water, down the river, or transported by rail to major cities such as Chicago.

An active capital market has formed in the eastern United States, and the banking industry is well developed. It is easy for investors to get credit support. Moreover, in the 1870s, there was a petroleum trading market in the oil region for spot trading.

This is the unique environment and conditions for the formation and development of the oil industry in the United States. It is not difficult to understand why the world's oil industry was not born first in other countries.