The story of Titusville and Colonel Drake

The story of oil find was no accident, rather a calculated scientific endeavour. Nevertheless, the venture had its origins in a series of accidental glimpses and the determination of some exceptional men. One among them was George Bissell, who, more than anybody else, was responsible for the beginning of the oil industry. The story goes like this: Once Bissell was passing through western Pennsylvania. He saw some of the primitive people collecting oil from a nearby oil spring (actually oozing out from rock). Bissell knew that rock oil was being used as folk medicine to relieve everything from headache, toothache to stomach upsets, and rheumatism. It was sold as Seneca Oil named after the local Indians. The Indian chief had supposedly imparted his healing secrets (as medicine men shown in some Hollywood films) to white men. Bissell also knew that the viscous black liquid was flammable. So it could be used as illuminant -- and that it might well assuage the woes of his pocketbook. It actually occurred to him that through commercial extraction of the product he could put the spectre of poverty behind him and become rich from promoting it.

However, a new puzzle came to his mind. How could the rock oil really be used as an illuminant? Bissell aroused the interest of other investors in late 1854. A group was formed who engaged Yale University professor Silliman to analyse the properties of oil both as illuminant and lubricant. Professor Silliman carried with him one of the greatest and most respected names in the nineteenth century science, the son of the founder of American chemistry. Armed with Silliman report, which proved to be the most persuasive advertisement for the enterprise, there was less difficulty in raising funds for the venture. Soon, James Townsend, a banker in New Haven (Connecticut) joined the group. Thus the investors were ready. But to whom would they now entrust this project?

The candidate was one Edwin L. Drake who was chosen mainly by coincidence. Drake was out of work at that time, actually on leave as a railway conductor. He however had a great attribute that could be of great value: He could be very tenacious, one essential quality even today in the oil and gas exploration. [Unfortunately our present Petrobangla authorities neither have the courage and tenacity nor capability to convince the government to engage them for gas exploration and development. Instead, they very easily and conveniently pass on the buck to foreign private oil companies. For instance, very recently Nico Oil Company of Canada found gas (for the second time after Petrobangla) from an undeclared abandoned gas field in Feni when Petrobangla sat on it for almost two decades. It's simply a shame on Petrobangla officials]

The thirty-eight year old Drake arrived after an exhausting journey through a sea of mud, in the tiny, impoverished village of Titusville having a population of 125, tucked into the hills of northwestern Pennsylvania. Titusville was a lumber town, which was expected to die when the surrounding hills had been all logged and that the wild would reclaim the site.

Drake had a daunting task to perform, drilling for oil. The investors had established a new company, the Seneca Oil Company, with Drake as its General Agent, as it was designated then. He set up operations about two miles down oil creek from Titusville, on a farm that contained an oil spring, from which three to six gallons of oil a day was collected by the traditional method. The initial capital (investment) for the venture was one thousand dollars and with that Drake tried to hire the salt borers -- or drillers -- that he needed if he were to proceed. But the salt drillers had a reputation for extreme partiality to whisky and frequent drunkenness, a practice that exists among drilling crews even today -- all over the world. The tradition for driller's work now was fifteen-day off and fifteen-day on. The fifteen-day off mostly meant for boozing.

Nevertheless, Drake soon devoted himself to erecting the steam engine that would power the drill bit. The bleak winter fast appeared and the entire area was covered with snow, when everybody deserted except Drake. In the spring of 1859, Drake found his driller, a blacksmith named William A. Smith -- uncle Billy Smith -- who came with his two sons. Smith knew something about what needed to be done, for he made tools for the salt-water drillers. The little team now proceeded to build the derrick and assemble the necessary equipment. But the work was very slow, and the investors were becoming more and more restive. Drake stuck to his plan. He wouldn't give up. Eventually, Bissell was the only one of the promoters who still believed in the project. Yet, no improvement was visible. In despair, Townsend sent Drake a money order as a final remittance, to close the operation. That was towards the end of August 1859.

Drake had not yet received the money order when, on Saturday afternoon, August 27, 1859, at sixty-nine feet, the drill dropped into a crevice and then slid another six inches. Work was called off for rest of the weekend. The next day, Sunday, the August 28, 1859, uncle Billy came out to see the well. He peered down into the pipe and saw a dark fluid floating on top of the water. He used a tin rainspout to draw up a sample. As he examined the heavy fluid he was overcome by excitement. On Monday 29 August, 1859, when Drake arrived, he found uncle Billy and his two sons attending guard over the tubs, washbasins, and barrels, all of which were filled with oil. Drake attached a common head pump and pumped up the liquid. Drake's single mindedness had paid off. Just in time. He had hit oil.

Incidentally, when Petrobangla was drilling in well No 7 in Sylhet geological structure in late 1986 for gas, suddenly the samples collected showed traces of oil. The foreign consultant did not believe the initial results, Petrobangla bosses were puzzled. They could not decide the next course of action. But the geologists and field lab personnel were excited. They wanted to carry out testing and completion for oil. Finally decision was taken to complete testing. It was done and oil was discovered for the first time in Bangladesh. Production of oil continued up to 1994. Then it got suspended for some mysterious (technical) reasons, which was never disclosed. The then President HM Ershad was very upset when I wrote a comment as Joint Secretary of the Ministry on the initial report that it could be a one well wonder. I was called to explain and I did. But he was perhaps not convinced. However, no oil well was discovered since then.

As for Titusville, Drake's firm conviction and tenacity proved the result. Farmers along the oil creak rushed into Titusville shouting, "The Yankees have struck oil." The news spread like wildfire and started a mad rush to acquire sites and drill for oil. The population of tiny Titusville multiplied overnight, and land prices shot up instantaneously. But for Drake, things did not go well at all. He was improvident, not a good businessman, indeed a gambler of sorts when it came to commerce. By 1866, only seven years after his discovery of oil in Titusville, he had lost all his money, and then became a semi-invalid, racked with pain, living in poverty. In 1873, the State of Pennsylvania granted him a small lifetime pension for his service, bringing him some measure of relief in his final year from his financial difficulties, if not his physical pain.

Success with the drilling at Titusville did not, however, guarantee financial success immediately. It meant new problems. What were Drake and uncle Billy to do with the flow of oil? They got hold of every whisky barrel they could scrounge in the area, and when all barrels were filled they built and filled several wooden vats. Unfortunately, one night the flame from a lantern ignited the petroleum gases, causing the entire storage area to explode and go up in fierce flames. Meanwhile, new wells were drilled in the neighbourhood, and more rock oil became available. Supply far outran demand, and the price plummeted. With the advent of drilling there was no shortage of rock oil. The only shortage was now of whisky barrels, and they soon cost almost twice as much as oil inside them.

By early 1973, almost 114 years later, the price of oil per barrel stood at US$ 2 (from US 2 cents in 1860), which shot up to US$ 11 per barrel in about four months. Thereafter, the price fluctuated between US$ 20 to 35 per barrel. The New York Stock Market has seen the highest ever in the history of oil price -- US$ 41.75 per barrel in mid-May, 2004. The net gains in oil initially went to the oil companies and then to OPEC.

Nuruddin Mahmud Kamal is a retired govt official.