Oil wells at Oil City
Oil wells Dingman No. 1 and No. 2
Oil flowing from British Petroleum
  • Lambton County oil field, Ontario, ca. 1860. Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-302-9

    The first oil well in North American is drilled.

    The first oil well in North American is drilled in Lambton County, Ontario, in 1857/58. Although the oil field here is relatively small and nearly exhausted after a few years of production, it marks the beginning of Canada’s oil industry. The region, particularly around Sarnia, continues to be a major centre for petrochemical research and refinery operations.
    Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-302-9

  • George Mercer Dawson (standing centre) and his survey party, 1879. Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-302-7

    Oil seeps in southern Alberta are documented.

    George Mercer Dawson conducts numerous surveys of western Canada and its resources for the International Boundary Commission (1873-1874) and the Geological Survey of Canada (1875-1901). In 1874, he reports oil seeps in the Waterton area, 225 km (140 mi.) south of Calgary.
    Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-302-7

  • Rocky Mountain Development Company oil well in the Waterton region, ca. 1902. Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-1585-7

    The first producing oil well in Western Canada is drilled.

    In 1902, the Rocky Mountain Development Company drills a well on Cameron Creek (in what is now Waterton Lakes National Park). It is the first producing oil well in western Canada.
    Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-1585-7

  • Calgary Petroleum Company wells (Dingman No. 1 and No. 2), Turner Valley, 1914. Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, P1304

    Petroleum is found in Alberta’s Turner Valley.

    On May 14, 1914, the Dingman No. 1 well strikes wet gas in the Devonian reef formation deep under the surface of Turner Valley, Alberta. Other wells are soon drilled, and the Turner Valley field becomes Canada’s largest oil and gas producer.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, P1304

  • Oil flowing from British Petroleum No. 3 in the Wainwright oil field, 1925. Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A10793

    A new discovery rekindles hope that large reservoirs of oil will be found beneath Alberta.

    Discovered by British Petroleum in 1923, the large Wainwright oil field revives hopes for the Alberta oil industry.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A10793

  • Signing of the federal-provincial agreement transferring natural resources to the Province of Alberta, December 14, 1929. Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A1092

    Control of natural resources is transferred to the provincial government.

    The agreement transferring jurisdiction of natural resources from the federal to the provincial government is signed in Ottawa, December 14, 1929, and enacted the following year. (Seated, starting second from left, are Hon. Charles Stewart, Minister of the Interior and Mines; Rt. Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King, Prime Minster of Canada; and Hon. John Brownlee, Premier of Alberta.) The transfer allows Alberta to realize the full economic potential of the oil and gas resources found within its borders.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A1092

  • Oil well Royalties No. 1 as a gusher after striking oil on June 16, 1936. Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-2335-2

    The Oil Column phase of Turner Valley development begins.

    The Royalties No. 1 oil discovery, in the Mississippian geological structure under Turner Valley, sets off another oil boom for the region.
    Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-2335-2

  • Oil well Imperial Leduc No. 1 blows in on February 13, 1947. Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, P1342

    Leduc No. 1 sets off the modern oil sector in Alberta.

    Imperial Leduc No. 1 blows in, setting off the modern oil sector in Alberta. The discovery of the Leduc oil field, then the largest and most lucrative yet found, comes after decades of fruitless searching and drilling. It marks the beginning of Alberta’s modern oil industry and completely revolutionizes the province’s economy and prospects.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, P1342

  • Corner of Railway Avenue and Main Street, Redwater, Alberta, 1948. Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A9763

    Additional oil discoveries confirm Alberta as a major oil producer.

    Oil derricks dot the landscape, and smoke from a new oil well rises from the horizon beyond the hamlet of Redwater. On the heels of the Leduc discovery, Imperial Oil finds a second major oil field near Redwater, northeast of Edmonton. Larger and easier to access than Leduc, this discovery confirms Alberta’s future as a major oil producer.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A9763

  • A section of the Interprovincial Pipeline being laid near Regina, Saskatchewan, 1954. Source: Julian Biggs/National Film Board of Canada/Library and Archives Canada/PA-122742

    The Interprovincial Pipeline expands the market for Alberta’s oil.

    Completed between Edmonton, Alberta, and Superior, Wisconsin, in 1950, the Interprovincial Pipeline is a vital transportation link that makes Alberta’s oilfields financially viable. By 1956, the pipeline is expanded and extended to Sarnia, Ontario, and is transporting more than 200,000 barrels a day.
    Source: Julian Biggs/National Film Board of Canada/Library and Archives Canada/PA-122742

  • Laying the Trans Mountain Pipeline through Jasper National Park and the Yellowhead Pass, 1952. Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A8495

    Alberta’s oil production is connected to Pacific markets.

    The Trans Mountain Pipeline, completed from Edmonton, Alberta, to Burnaby, British Columbia, in 1953, opens up Pacific markets for Alberta’s oil production.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A8495

  • A well-site geologist stands in front of the Pembina No. 1 well, 1953. Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-5103-9

    “Fracking” opens up previously inaccessible oil reservoirs.

    A wellsite geologist stands in front of the Pembina No. 1 oil well. A joint venture of two oil companies, this well successfully strikes oil about 100 km (62 mi.) southwest of Edmonton. The oil at Pembina is accessed by a developing technology called sandstone fracturing or “fracking.” This technology makes it possible to extract previously inaccessible oil reserves and becomes more widely used throughout Alberta in the following decades.
    Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-5103-9

  • A seismic crew unloads supplies in the Rainbow/Zama region, 1950. Source: Glenbow Archives, S-236-46

    Oil is discovered in Alberta’s remote northwest.

    In 1965, the Banff Oil Company drills successful wells in this region. They are the first major oil discoveries in this remote area of Alberta’s northwest.
    Source: Glenbow Archives, S-236-46

  • A long line of cars forms at a gas station in the 1970s. Source: Library of Congress, LC-U9-37734-16A

    The OPEC oil embargo rocks energy markets.

    Starting in 1973, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) begins restricting oil exports to much of the Western world, including Canada. Fuel shortages become common, and the price of Alberta oil, one of the few remaining reliable and friendly sources of oil for industrialized nations, skyrockets.
    Source: Library of Congress, LC-U9-37734-16A

  • An aerial view of the oil fields of the Pembina and West Pembina region. Source: WikiCommons/Qyd

    West Pembina injects new life into Alberta’s oil sector.

    In October 1977, Chevron Oil opens the West Pembina oil field. It is the largest discovery in ten years and revives hopes for Alberta’s oil sector, which had been suffering from a lack of new discoveries over the previous decade.
    Source: WikiCommons/Qyd

  • Pierre Trudeau, Prime Minster of Canada (right), and Peter Lougheed, Premier of Alberta (centre), hold a joint press conference announcing a compromise on some provisions of the federal National Energy Program (NEP), September 1, 1981. Source: CP Photo/Dave Bunston, 03263367

    The NEP alienates Alberta’s oil patch.

    The National Energy Program is created by the federal government in 1980 to ensure a reliable and affordable supply of oil and gas for Canadian industry. The provincial government perceives it as an unwarranted intrusion into its affairs and as sacrificing Alberta’s interests in favour of those of Central Canada. Although a compromise is reached in 1981, bitter memories of the NEP continue to characterize Alberta-Central Canada relations.
    Source: CP Photo/Dave Bunston, 03263367

  • Peter Lougheed, Premier of Alberta (right), greets Brian Mulroney, Prime Minister of Canada (left), 1984. Source: CP Photo/Pat Price, 673836

    The Western Accord brings NEP regulation to an end.

    Within a year of this meeting, the Governments of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan will negotiate the Western Accord, which ends the National Energy Program, deregulates oil prices and encourages new investment in western Canada’s oil sector.
    Source: CP Photo/Pat Price, 673836

  • Smoke and steam billow from an Imperial Oil refinery in Calgary. Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-2864-20312

    Environmental concerns challenge the practices
    of the petroleum industry

    Images such as these feed concerns through the Western world about environmental damage due to industrial development. In 1987, the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development releases the report Our Common Future. It encourages the concept of “sustainable development” in an attempt to balance First World concerns about human rights and environmental degradation with Third World nations’ need for economic development. Although not directly related to the oil sector, this concept forms the basis for future anti-pollution and climate change strategies.
    Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-2864-20312

  • Protestors gather in Calgary during the 16th Annual World Petroleum Congress, 2000. Source: CP Photo/Adrian Wyld

    The World Petroleum Congress meets in Calgary.

    The World Petroleum Congress, held for the first time in Canada, attracts industry and political leaders from around the world. A parallel counter-congress and protests occur in the city at the same time. As the new millennium approaches, Alberta’s oil sector faces pressure from increasingly dedicated and organized environmental and human rights activists.
    Source: CP Photo/Adrian Wyld

  • Heavy equipment at an oil sands mine near Fort McMurray, Alberta. Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, GR1989.0516.394#3

    The oil sands dominate oil production in Alberta.

    In 2002, conventional oil production in Alberta is surpassed by oil sands production for the first time - a sign of the changing focus of Alberta’s oil sector.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, GR1989.0516.394#3

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Drilling Tools and Technology

Some of the earliest oil wells in Canada were dug using spring poles. A pole rested on a fulcrum point and had one side secured to the ground. A sharpened tool was attached to rods, which were suspended from the pole over a well. The rods and tool were repeatedly raised and dropped to deepen the hole.

During the Turner Valley period there were two types of drilling rigs used—the cable tool drill rig and rotary tool drill rigs. Cable tool drill rigs developed from spring pole technology. The sharpened tool was attached to a series of rods or cables, which were attached to an upright derrick, initially made of wood, but later of steel. Steam power was used to repeatedly lift and drop the tool. Cable tool drill rigs were particularly effective in smashing their way through hard geological formations. They were more

efficient and stronger than spring poles, but well drilling was still a long and laborious process; it took a two- or three-man crew, working in almost continual shifts, months or even years to drill wells deep enough to reach the oil and gas reservoirs. Cable tool rigs and derricks were extremely dangerous. Most of the work was done in a small cellar under the derrick, which could fill with released, poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S). The deeper the well was dug, the more rope or steel cable was needed, which placed considerable strain on the derricks. Derrick collapses were not frequent, but they did occur, often with catastrophic consequences for the drill crews. Fire, which was fed by oil-soaked equipment and derricks, was also an ever-present danger.

Rotary drill rigs employed auger-like technology. A hollow drill bit was attached to a series of cables and/or pipes. The drill bit used constant motion of the sharp bits to grind the well deeper. A fluid, which came to be known as drilling mud, continually circulated around the drill bit to keep it cool and to wash away debris. Rotary drills were

particularly effective in softer geological formations, where cable tool drills had trouble. Rotary drill rigs required larger crews to operate them, but they were many times faster and more efficient than cable tool drills. They appeared in Turner Valley in the mid-1920s. The last 3,000 ft. of the first oil well (as opposed to gas) in Turner Valley was drilled with a rotary tool rig in 1936.

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