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1. OKLAHOMA'S FIRST COMMERCIAL OIL WELL
Nellie Johnstone No. 1, first commercial oil well in Indian Territory, completed April 15, 1897, by the Cudahy Oil Co., on the south bank of the Caney River. Site is 3.1 mi. N. W. of this marker.
Oklahoma Historical Society and
State Highway Commission 1963
Metal highway marker on U.S. Highway 75 east of Bartlesville
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2. STATE'S EARLIEST OIL REFINERY
Muskogee Oil Refining Company, organized in March, 1905, built a "finishing plant" near this site in November, 1905. It soon was producing lamp kerosene, lubricating oil and industrial fuel -- the beginning of oil refining in Oklahoma, a leading industry today.
Oklahoma Historical Society and
State Highway Commission 1965
Metal highway marker south of Muskogee on U.S. Highway 69
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3. BIRTHPLACE OF INTERSTATE OIL COMPACT COMMISSION
Original plans for creating Interstate Compact to Conserve Oil and Gas were developed on December 4, 1934, at the home of Governor-elect E. W. Marland located one-half mile northeast of this spot.
Participants from twelve oil producing states took part in these discussions of national and international significance.
The purpose was to form a compact for bringing about conservation and prevention of waste in petroleum resources through coordinated efforts of states.
The Compact, creating the Interstate Oil Compact Commission, was approved February 16, 1935, in Dallas, Texas, and was ratified in the same year by the Legislatures of Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Illinois, and Kansas, and consented to by Congress August 27, 1935.
By 1966 thirty states were active members, and three were associate members. Official observers included representatives of Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada, Columbia and Venezuela in South America, U. S. Departments of Defense and Interior, and the Federal Power Commission.
Currently they have 36 states with active membership in the IOCC.
Headquarters of Compact Commission established on Capitol Grounds in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma Historical Society 1966
Granite monument in front of the Pioneer Woman Museum in Ponca City
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4. OKLAHOMA CITY OIL FIELD
Oklahoma City oil and gas field discovery well brought in December 4, 1928 is approximately six miles southeast of this marker.
From such beginning, the sprawling Oklahoma City oil and gas field became on of the world's major oil producing areas, ranking eight in the nation during the first 40 years of existence. In this time the field yielded 733,543,000 barrels of oil.
Discovery and development of Oklahoma City oil field added great stability to the economy of both Oklahoma City and the State of Oklahoma -- providing financial incentive for cultural and industrial progress. In tapping the prolific Wilcox producing zone on March 25, 1930, the Mary Sudik No. 1 well blew "wild" for more than 11 days, thereby distinguishing itself as the "most publicized oil well in the world".
Rapid development of field, and problems created thereby, sparked passage of first comprehensive state legislation for conservation of oil and gas, thus providing model statutes for other states to follow.
To reach oil reserves underlying Oklahoma State Capitol Building, one well was slant-drilled from across the street to oil sands beneath the Capitol.
The discovery well and "Wild Mary Sudik" were both drilled by Indian Territory Illuminating Oil Co., an affiliate of Cities Service Oil Co., and by Foster Petroleum Co.
Oklahoma Historical Society, 1968
Granite monument near the steps of the State Capitol in Oklahoma City
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5. TULSA: OIL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD
Tulsa has long been known as the oil capital of the world and the city that oil built. The rise of Tulsa to a place of preeminence in the petroleum industry began on June 25, 1901, when a well was brought in at Red Fork across the Arkansas River to the southwest. Tulsa leaders caused a bridge to be built between the two points and national publicity focused attention on Tulsa as a center of a new oil region.
When a major oil strike took place at the nearby Glenn Pool, on November 22, 1905, the production of oil in the area became so great that the term "Oil Capital of the World" was universally applied to Tulsa. Other fields were discovered and developed in adjacent areas to a point where, for a time, it was the largest oil producing center on earth.
Tulsa remained in the forefront of exploration and development, financing, equipment manufacturing, and provided skills and executive direction for a growing, worldwide industry - hence continued to hold the title: Oil Capital of the World.
Oklahoma Historical Society 1969
Horizontal granite monument in Tulsa's Civic Center
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6. OIL IN THE OSAGE INDIAN NATION AND THE "MILLION DOLLAR ELM"
Symbolic of the impact oil had on the people of the Osage Indian Nation is the so-called "Million Dollar Elm". It was given this name because in its shade millions of dollars worth of Osage oil leases were auctioned. It was planted at this site sometime during the latter part of the 19th Century as an ornament and for shade. The name was not given by tribal leaders, but by reporters and magazine writers who were dramatizing the events when important heads and founders of the world's greatest oil companies came in person to bid. The auctioneer himself, the histrionic Colonel Walters, became famous because of his success in getting top bids.
The story of oil and the Osages is one of the most glamorous facets of the oil industry in America. It began with the drilling of the first well in the Osage in October, 1897.
On March 2, 1922, the first 160-acre tract to bring a million dollars or more was in the NE 25-27-5. Skelly Oil Company and Phillips Petroleum Company bid jointly on this tract. Highest bonus paid for a 160-acre tract was by Midland Oil Company, March 29, 1924 - $1,990,000 for a tract in the NW 14-27-5.
A total of 18 tracts brought bonuses of $1,000,000 or more.
By November, 1969, the Osage lands had produced a billion barrels of oil, and it was estimated that two billion barrels remained in the area.
Oklahoma Historical Society, with
Oklahoma Petroleum Council, 1970
Granite monument on campus of Osage Indian Agency in Pawhuska
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7. INTERNATIONAL PETROLEUM EXPOSITION
The International Petroleum Exposition was founded in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1923 providing a display to the World of the latest in equipment, operational ideas and practices used in the petroleum and related industries.
When the first Exposition was held, it was a street-bazaar type of show with equipment displays valued at $100,000. By the time of the sixteenth exhibition in 1971, it had grown to include more than five hundred of the world's leading manufacturers, services, and supply companies. The exhibits were valued at more than $1,000,000,000.
The International Petroleum Exposition introduced many innovations in equipment, such as the steel derrick, and fostered foreign trade by promoting exports of oil equipment, thus influencing other countries in developing their own petroleum resources.
L. B. Jackson, an independent oilman, was the first president of the Exposition. The second was W. G. Skelly, who founded Skelly Oil Company and presided over the International Petroleum Exposition for thirty-two years. W. K. Warren, founder of Warren Petroleum Corporation, was president of the Exposition for ten years.
Other oilmen who have headed the Exposition are: R. L. Kidd, one-time chairman of Cities Service Oil Company, and Randolph Yost, president of Amoco Production Company.
Oklahoma Historical Society, with
Oklahoma Petroleum Council, 1971
Granite monument at main entrance to Tulsa Exposition Center in Expo Square, Tulsa
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8. FIRST GAS PROCESSING PLANT WEST OF MISSISSIPPI RIVER
The gas processing industry west of the Mississippi River had its beginning near here in 1909. At the D. W. Franchot & Company plant three miles west of this marker, liquid hydrocarbons were extracted from gas produced with oil in the surrounding Glenn Pool. This pool was discovered on November 22, 1905, and provided raw material for the first gas processing plant. By 1920, 315 plants had been built in Oklahoma.
Expansion of the gas processing industry grew out of conservation of liquids contained in natural gas. This natural gasoline, as it was called, initially was used to fuel the increasing numbers of automobiles. Residue gas was used to fuel oil field operations and was piped to nearby towns for heating and lighting.
With the rapid growth of gas processing in Oklahoma and surrounding oil states, gas processing became a major United States industry. By 1970, natural gas and the products of gas processing constituted 58 percent of the nation's total petroleum energy production. Oklahoma plants had processed 30 trillion cubic feet of gas and recovered 1.5 billion barrels of liquids by 1970.
Within a few years after gas processing had spread to Oklahoma, it spawned two other petroleum-related processing entities - the petrochemical and the LP-Gas or "bottled gas" industries.
Oklahoma Historical Society, with
Oklahoma Petroleum Council, 1972
Granite monument at U. S. Highway 75 and 141st Street, Tulsa
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9. OKLAHOMA'S FIRST WATERFLOOD
Injection of water into an oil reservoir to increase recovery was first attempted in Oklahoma on an oil lease 5.8 miles east of this location.
From that effort, a recovery method previously used in eastern fields was adapted to conditions found in this area. Since then, waterflooding to obtain greater oil recovery has spread to adjoining states and around the world.
The initial waterflood, experimental in nature, was developed by Bert Collins on a shallow producing property in Rogers County in May, 1931 on a Carter Oil Company lease. The test was encouraging and the method was applied to other oil reservoirs.
Water for modern flooding projects, treated to a purity often exceeding city requirements, is injected under high pressure into oil-bearing formations to force the oil through the strata to nearby producing wells from which it is pumped. On the average, 10 barrels of water is injected for each barrel of crude oil recovered.
The City of Nowata became the hub of waterflooding for the area with most of the field activity being in Rogers County where vast oil reserves had been proven.
Billions of barrels of crude oil have been recovered by waterflooding to provide man with increased supplies of energy and fuel that could still be locked in the earth without the industry's constant effort to improve its recovery methods.
Oklahoma Historical Society, with
Oklahoma Petroleum Council, 1973
Granite monument at intersection of U. S. Highway 169 and Winganon Road, south of Nowata and west of Chelsea.
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10. HEALDTON: OKLAHOMA'S FIRST STATE-REGULATED OIL FIELD
Production of crude oil from the newly-discovered Healdton field surrounding this marker site flooded the market with an oversupply of petroleum. Protesting that pipeline purchases were inadequate, producers claimed they were being deprived of individual rights to produce and sell their share of the field's production.
In response, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, in May, 1914, ordered the pipeline carrier to increase purchases of produced oil, provide facilities for rail shipment and build field tankage. The pipeline was further ordered to purchase oil ratably and equitably from Healdton producers.
This order resulting in proration of oil purchasing, nine months after the field's discovery in August, 1913, made Healdton the first field in the state to be regulated by a state commission. This early-day proration was a forerunner of petroleum conservation laws to prevent physical and economic waste of petroleum energy in most oil states.
By late 1915, prolific production at Healdton and other Oklahoma oil fields supplied energy for a burgeoning automotive age in the United States and the Allied war machine of World War I. As the Healdton field boomed, the influx of oilmen overtaxed the community's facilities.
Hastily-built stores, rooming and boarding houses and entertainment places turned the community into a typical oil boom town. The principal boom town area was called Ragtown.
Oklahoma Historical Society, with
Oklahoma Petroleum Council, 1974
Granite monument on Highway 76 in Healdton, in front of Healdton Oil Museum
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11. WORLD'S FIRST SCHOOL OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGY
Charles Newton Gould, known as the "Father of Oklahoma Geology", established in 1900 at the University of Oklahoma what is now the School of Geology and Geophysics. It became the first school of petroleum geology in the World.
Gould's covered-wagon geological field work added significantly to the energy and water-related geology of Oklahoma and the Southwest.
As a result of his pioneering faith in the scientific approach to oil and gas exploration, he, his professor associates and students established as a science the use of both surface and subsurface geology in the each for oil and gas. It was not until the early 1920's that geology, and later geophysics, gained acceptance and wider use as oil-finding techniques.
As our nation entered its Bicentennial year, the school's geology and geophysics graduates outnumbered those of any other university in the world. Its graduates are among the world's foremost petroleum geologists and geophysicists - having discovered significant oil and gas reserves throughout the world.
Today, these graduates and those of other universities make up the membership of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, an association of scientists founded by Gould and others on the University of Oklahoma campus.
Oklahoma Historical Society, with
Oklahoma Petroleum Council, 1975
Granite monument in front of Gould Hall on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman
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12. OKLAHOMA'S OIL PIONEERS
Oklahoma's rise to prominence as a leading producer of oil, natural gas and refined products can be attributed in great measure to the determination and hardy spirit of its pioneers in the industry. These were wildcatters, the roughnecks, drillers, pipeliners, the operators of primitive processing plants, and those who provided the risk capital.
As the industry evolved, these oil pioneers were joined by innovators, geologists, engineers, scientists and management people.
Through successes and frequent failures, there developed the sciences, the techniques, processes and conservation approaches that earned for Oklahoma the title "the State that oil built". These developments showed the way to economic benefits for all of Oklahoma and influenced technological progress in our nation and the world.
As a result of these pioneering efforts, Oklahoma was ranked as fourth largest crude oil producing state and was third in natural gas production in 1976, the Bicentennial year of our Nation.
Oklahoma Historical Society, with
Oklahoma Petroleum Council, 1976
Granite monument on grounds of Oklahoma Historical Society Building in the Capitol Complex in Oklahoma City
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13. THE GREATER SEMINOLE OIL FIELD
The Greater Seminole oil field was one of several fields discovered in the mid-1920s that swung the United States' oil inventory from scarcity to surplus.
Discovery of five prolific Seminole area oil pools in 1926 and 1927 glutted the market, resulting in voluntary reductions in oil production and a slow-down in field development.
The Seminole City pool led the discovery race with the Hunton lime discovery by Indian Territory Illuminating Oil Co. On March 7, 1926. It was followed on July 6, 1926 by discovery of the Wilcox sand production by Amerada Petroleum Co. nearby. The Fixico well of R. F. Garland and Independent Oil Co. penetrated the Wilcox sand on July 16, flowing 1,500 barrels of oil daily. This well revealed the potential of Wilcox production in the area and started the Greater Seminole oil boom.
In rapid succession came the Searight, Earlsboro, Bowlegs and Little River pools.
Peak production of Greater Seminole was 527,400 barrels on July 30, 1927. Production has continued for more than 50 years and totaled 201,246,000 barrels by the start of 1977.
Oil discoveries brought an estimated 20,000 oil field workers to the area, transforming Seminole into the last of the oil boom towns - with several satellite tent and shack towns nearby.
Oklahoma Historical Society, with
Oklahoma Petroleum Council, 1977
Granite monument near the entrance to Seminole Municipal Park, on the north edge of Seminole on Highway 99
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14. BARTLESVILLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY CENTER
Petroleum technology in the United States, as it is known today, began in Bartlesville March 28, 1918, with the designation by the U. S. Government of this city as the site for what is now the Bartlesville Energy Technology Center.
Known first as the Petroleum Experiment Station, the Center provided pioneering scientific and engineering research to industry. With research targeted on oil and gas field problems, the Center developed specialists in petroleum engineering and technology - pointing to the need for these specialists within the oil companies.
Conservation has been the keynote of the Center's work. Its research has contributed to orderly oil and gas field development, secondary and tertiary methods of recovery and more efficient methods of use.
Cooperative efforts of the petroleum industry and the Center have resulted in findings that have been useful in long range planning for the benefit of the public.
When the energy insufficiency surfaced in the 1970s, the Center provided enhanced recovery processes for producing a potential 40 billion more barrels of petroleum.
In addition to establishing the Center, the Bartlesville community has seen pioneering work by Cities Service, Phillips Petroleum and TRW-Reda companies that has helped bring the petroleum industry to its present scientific level.
Oklahoma Historical Society, with
Oklahoma Petroleum Council, 1978
Granite monument on the grounds of the Bartlesville Energy Technology Center in Bartlesville
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15. OIL IN THE CUSHING-DRUMRIGHT AREA
Discovered in March, 1912 by Tom Slick and C. B. Shaffer, the Cushing field became one of the greatest oil discoveries of the early 1900's - ranking as the nation's largest oil province for the next eight years.
Production peaked in May, 1915 at 300,000 barrels daily. This glut of oil . . .
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Cushing retains its role in oil history as the "pipeline crossroads of the world". Here in 1979, is the greatest concentration of major carriers in the world, with 23 pipeline systems and total capacity of over 30,000,000 barrels.
Oklahoma Historical Society, with
Oklahoma Petroleum Council, 1979
Granite monument on the grounds of City Hall in Cushing
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16. PATRIARCH PETROCHEMICAL PLANT OF THE SOUTHWEST
The manufacture of chemicals from petroleum had its beginning in the Southwest at the Tallant gas processing plant located 3 miles north of here at the bend of State Highway 11 and Bird Creek.
Built in 1926 by a Cities Service Company subsidiary, the plant process was the research answer to red rust produced in transmission to market of natural gas from the Burbank, Oklahoma field.
The liquid by-product of Burbank gas treatment was first processed into a formaldehyde preservant and alcohols. Processing refinements produced other petrochemicals used in solvents, photographic chemicals, preservatives, medical products, refrigerants, safety glass, adhesives and disinfectants.
World War II shifted production of Tallant petrochemicals to high-priority war effort necessities, contributing to development of all-weather plywoods for assault boats, pontoon bridges, torpedo boats, planes and aircraft carrier decking.
Another Tallant petrochemical was used in making shatter-proof glass that protected crews of bombers and other war craft.
On battlefields, derivatives of Tallant petrochemicals gave relief from pain to the injured, went into wartime medicines and anesthetics, disinfected against disease and kept in transit foods refrigerated.
Recognized as the patriarch petrochemical plant, it was retired in 1954 and the complex at the bend of Bird Creek partially dismantled. But, the process that had its beginning in 1926 is still used elsewhere.
Oklahoma Historical Society, with
Oklahoma Petroleum Council, 1981
Granite monument on the grounds of the Bigheart Historical Museum at 6th and Main in Barnsdall
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17. THE ANADARKO BASIN
The Deep Anadarko Basin of Western Oklahoma is one of the most prolific gas provinces of North America. Wells drilled here have been among the world's deepest.
The Bertha Rogers No. 1 in Washita County, drilled in 1971 to 31,441 feet, was then the world's deepest well. In 1979 the No. 1 Sanders well near Sayre became Oklahoma's deepest gas producer at 24,996 feet. When controls on gas prices were lifted, Anadarko justified the faith and perseverance of The GHK Company and other operators who pioneered in deep drilling.
The shallow horizons of Greater Anadarko account for much of this nation's proved gas reserves. Deeper sediments below 15,000 feet remain virtually unexplorated. Renewed assessment of some 22,000 cubic miles of deep sediments may carry over into the 21st Century.
For 20th Century's final quarter the Basin remains the frontier of deep drilling technology centered on Elk City, "Deep Gas Capital of the World". As gas prices equate more closely to value, the nation's needs may be met increasingly from this massive sedimentary basin, a focal point in drilling innovation and geological interpretation.
In re-energizing America, Anadarko will not yield its gas easily or briefly. Promised rewards lying beyond the threshold of drilling techniques demand massive investment. In challenging the inventive enterprise of America's energy industry, this Basin will remain the heartland of technology in penetrating the earth's crust.
Oklahoma Historical Society, with
Oklahoma Petroleum Council, 1981
Granite monument on the grounds of Elk City's Old Town Museum in Elk City
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18. PANHANDLE AREA NATURAL GAS
The largest individual gas reserve in the United States covers much of the Oklahoma Panhandle, extending northward from Texas through this area and into Kansas. This sprawling Hugoton-Panhandle field provides gas to comfort mankind, fire the boilers of industry and undergird the nation's economy.
Hugoton-Panhandle gas provides the world's largest source of helium, from which the U. S. government has drawn a 40-year supply stockpile, and spacecraft and other industries obtain current needs.
The Texas part of the field was discovered in 1918, based on the surface survey and recommendations of Oklahoma's "Covered Wagon Geologist", Charles N. Gould, in 1904-1905. Gas from the deep formation was discovered in southwestern Kansas in 1922. Step-out drilling northward from Texas and southward from Kansas revealed one huge tri-state field covering five million productive acres in parts of 20 counties. Development of these gas reserves was hampered by lack of market outlet.
This huge undeveloped reserve was to figure mightily in the "birthing" of the natural gas industry of the world. Completion of a 24-inch, high-pressure line from the field to Chicago area markets in 1931 ushered in the age of long-distance pipeline transportation of energy and the widespread use of gas at points distant from gas source.
Oklahoma Historical Society, with
Oklahoma-Kansas Oil & Gas Association, 1982
Granite monument on the grounds of No Man's Land Regional Park in Guymon
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19. OKLAHOMA: WHERE REFLECTION SEISMOGRAPH WAS BORN
Oklahoma is the birthplace of the reflection seismic technique of oil exploration. This geophysical method records reflected seismic waves as they travel through the earth, helping to find oil-bearing formations. It has been responsible for discovery of many of the world's largest oil and gas fields, containing billions of barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas.
Pioneering research and development was led by Dr. J. C. Karcher, an Oklahoma physicist. The Arbuckle Mountains of Oklahoma were selected for a pilot survey of the technique and equipment, because an entire geologic section from the basal Permian to the basement mass of granite is exposed here. This survey followed limited testing in June, 1921 in the outskirts of Oklahoma City.
Verification and confirmation testing was conducted in the Arbuckles beginning July 4, 1921 by Dr. Karcher and Dr. W. P. Haseman, Dr. D. W. Ohern and Dr. Irving Perrine, of the University of Oklahoma. Results were promising.
The world's first reflection seismograph geologic section was measured on August 9, 1921 along Vines Branch, a few miles north of Dougherty near here.
The reflection technique has become the major method of energy exploration throughout the world. By 1983 more than 70 percent of the 18,600 members of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists in 112 countries were involved in reflection seismography.
Oklahoma Historical Society, with
Oklahoma-Kansas Oil & Gas Association, 1983
Granite monument at first scenic outlook on southbound Interstate 35 south of Exit 51, about 20 miles north of Ardmore.
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