14. Russia and the USA: The Oil Pioneers

The volume of oil the world currently uses in 3 weeks, 1.7 billion barrels, is equal to all the oil produced during the nineteenth century. The first reported oil production—of 2,000 barrels per year—came from Romania in 1857. However, many regard the beginning of the Oil Age as occurring on August 27, 1859, when the drilling team of Edwin Drake reached a total depth of 21 m (69.5 ft). Near the end of the day the drill bit slipped when it hit a new formation so the team decided to stop and continue the next day (see Fig. 14.1). On the following day, Drake’s driller Billy Smith looked into the hole and was surprised and delighted to see crude oil rising up. Drake was summoned and the oil was brought to the surface with a hand pitcher pump. The oil boom in Pennsylvania had begun. By 1860 the United States had overtaken Rumania in oil production and it remained the world’s ­leading producer until 1898 when Russia took the lead (with the help of the Nobel brothers’ company Branobel, see the section “The Discovery of Oil Seeping Out of the Ground”, Chap. 5).