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LADY HUNTER WELL
Petrolia City, Pennsylvania (1880)
George Bissell and Edwin L. Drake made the first successful use of a drilling rig on a commercial well drilled especially to produce oil in Pennsylvania. They drilled to 69 feet.
A NEW METHOD FOR PRODUCING OIL
Drake, also known as the “Father of the Petroleum Industry”, is famous for pioneering a new method for producing oil from the ground. He drilled using piping to prevent borehole collapse, allowing for the drill to penetrate further and further into the ground.
Previous methods for collecting oil had consisted of gathering it from where it occurred naturally, such as from oil seeps or shallow holes dug into the ground. Alternative methods of digging large shafts into the ground also failed, as collapse from water seepage almost always occurred.
THE PRINCIPLE IS STILL EMPLOYED TODAY
The significant step that Drake took was to drive a 32-foot iron pipe through the ground into the bedrock below. This allowed Drake to drill inside the pipe, without the hole collapsing from the water seepage. The principle behind this idea is still employed today by all companies drilling for hydrocarbons.
