OIL: DRILLERS GO BUST FOR IT.
NATIONS GO TO WAR FOR IT. NOBODY CAN GET ENOUGH.
FROM A SINGLE 50-FOOT DERRICK TO PLATFORM CITIES TALLER
THAN THE TALLEST BUILDINGS, IT'S A HIGH-RISK GAMBLE
THAT CAN MAKE YOU A BILLIONAIRE OR RUIN YOUR LIFE.
NOW: PASSION, LUCK, AND SCIENCE IN THE SEARCH FOR BLACK GOLD
IN THE EARLY 1600s,
WHEN EUROPEAN EXPLORERS FIRST ENTERED THE WOODED HILLS
OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA, THEY FOUND SOMETHING THEY'D
NEVER ENCOUNTERED BEFORE-- A BLACK, OOZING SUBSTANCE
THAT SEEPED UP FROM THE GROUND IN VISCOUS BUBBLES.
THE LOCAL INDIANS TOUTED THE SUBSTANCE AS A FOLK-MEDICINE
CURE-ALL FOR EVERYTHING FROM BURNS TO BROKEN BONES.
THEY ALSO USED IT TO CAULK THEIR CANOES.
NATIVE AMERICANS WERE NOT THE FIRST TO MAKE USE
OF THIS NATURAL RESOURCE. THE WALLS OF JERICHO
WERE HELD TOGETHER WITH OIL-BASED TAR AS MORTAR.
AND ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE, NOAH APPLIED TWO COATS OF TAR
TO THE OUTSIDE OF THE ARK TO MAKE IT WATERTIGHT.
OIL HAD BEEN FORMED OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS
FROM PREHISTORIC PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE THAT DECAYED
AND WAS COMPRESSED UNDER GREAT PRESSURE.
BUT IT WASN'T UNTIL THE 1850s THAT IT BURST FORTH
INTO THE MODERN WORLD AND TRIGGERED A REVOLUTION.
THE MAN WHO LAUNCHED THIS REVOLUTION
WAS A NEW YORK LAWYER WITH AN ENTREPRENEURIAL FLAIR
NAMED GEORGE BISSELL. HE HAD SEEN HOW PENNSYLVANIA OIL
WAS COLLECTED FROM THE SURFACE AND USED IN MEDICINAL ELIXIRS
POPULAR AT THE TIME. >> "RUB IT ON WOUNDS, CUTS,
ABRASIONS, RASHES, PIMPLES, SORES, SCRATCHES,
AND OTHER AFFLICTIONS OF THE EPIDERMIS."
>> narrator: BUT BISSELL HAD ANOTHER IDEA
FOR THIS MIRACLE SUBSTANCE. COULD OIL, HE WONDERED,
BE SOMEHOW HARNESSED FOR ILLUMINATION?
LAMPS BURNING WHALE OIL WERE STILL THE DOMINANT SOURCE
OF HOME LIGHTING, BUT THE PRICE OF WHALE OIL
HAD BEEN RISING PRECIPITOUSLY. >> WHALE OIL WAS EXTRACTED
FROM THE BLUBBER AND OIL OF THE SPERMACETI WHALE.ED
AND, OF COURSE, THE SPERMACETI WHALES WERE HUNTED EXTENSIVELY
IN THE 1830s AND 1840s TO THE POINT THAT BY THE 1850s,
THE WORLD HERD, AS IT WAS ACCESSIBLE AT THE TIME,
WAS VERY MUCH DEPLETED. AND THAT, OF COURSE, DROVE THE
PRICE OF SPERMACETI WHALE OIL, AS THEY CALLED IT, UP.
>> narrator: AS A POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE TO WHALE OIL,
BISSELL, IN 1854, SENT A SAMPLE OF THE PENNSYLVANIA OIL
TO A CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR AT YALE FOR ANALYSIS.
THREE MONTHS LATER, THE PROFESSOR CONFIRMED
BISSELL'S WILD DREAM. >> "YOUR COMPANY HAVE IN THEIR
POSSESSION A RAW MATERIAL FROM WHICH, BY SIMPLE
AND NOT EXPENSIVE PROCESSES, THEY MAY MANUFACTURE
VERY VALUABLE PRODUCTS." >> narrator: HE DISCOVERED
THAT THROUGH BOILING THE OIL, IT COULD BE DISTILLED
INTO A HIGH-QUALITY ILLUMINATING FLUID CALLED KEROSENE,
WHICH BURNED WITH A CLEAN, BRIGHT FLAME.
BISSELL AND HIS PARTNER, NEW HAVEN BANKER JOHN TOWNSEND,
FORMED THE SENECA OIL COMPANY AND ACQUIRED LAND
IN PENNSYLVANIA. THE PROBLEM THEY FACED
WAS HOW TO GET THE OIL IN LARGE ENOUGH QUANTITIES
TO CREATE A KEROSENE MARKET. THE SOLUTION CAME FROM A BOTTLE
OF MAKE-BELIEVE MEDICINE. WHILE IN A DRUGGIST'S SHOP
ONE DAY IN 1856, BISSELL SAW AN ADVERTISEMENT
FOR A MIRACLE ELIXIR, KIER'S ROCK OIL MEDICINE,
THAT FEATURED ON ITS LABEL A DERRICK USED TO DRILL
WATER WELLS. WATER DISTILLERS IN PENNSYLVANIA
HAD LONG BEEN PLAGUED WITH THE PROBLEM OF OIL
SEEPING INTO THEIR WELLS. IT WAS THIS UNWANTED OIL THAT
SAMUEL KIER BOTTLED AND SOLD. IN A GIANT LEAP
OF UNDERSTANDING, BISSELL IMMEDIATELY GRASPED
THAT DRILLING FOR OIL MIGHT MAKE SENSE.
WHAT THEY NEEDED WAS SOMEONE TO SUPERVISE THE DRILLING
OF A WELL. TOWNSEND SUGGESTED HIS FRIEND
EDWIN DRAKE. >> EDWIN DRAKE WAS PROBABLY
NOT THE MOST OBVIOUS CHOICE TO DRILL WHAT BECAME
THE PIONEER OIL WELL. HE HAD BEEN A PURSER
ON A STEAMBOAT, HE HAD BEEN A CONDUCTOR
ON THE NEW HAVEN RAILROAD, AND SO ON.
I THINK HIS MAJOR QUALIFICATION FOR THE JOB WAS THAT
HE NEEDED WORK AT THE TIME. >> WHEN IT WAS ANNOUNCED
THAT THIS WELL WOULD BE DRILLED FOR THE EXPRESS PURPOSE
OF FINDING OIL IN THE AREA THERE, PEOPLE--
DRAKE BECAME A LAUGHINGSTOCK. EVERYBODY LAUGHED AT HIM.
SO IN ORDER FOR HIS BACKERS TO GIVE HIM SOME CREDIBILITY,
ALL OF THE MAIL THAT WENT IN TO HIM
HAD THE TITLE "COLONEL" ON IT. SO WHEN THE POSTMASTER SAW IT:
"OOH, HE'S A COLONEL." SO HE WAS KNOWN
AS COLONEL DRAKE. >> narrator: IN THE SPRING
OF 1859, IN TITUSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA,
COLONEL DRAKE HIRED A LOCAL BLACKSMITH
NAMED UNCLE BILLY SMITH, AND THEY BEGAN DRILLING FOR OIL.
AS THE MONTHS PASSED, THEY HIT WATER BUT NOTHING ELSE.
THE OIL INDUSTRY'S FIRST WELL SEEMED DESTINED TO BE THE
OIL INDUSTRY'S FIRST DRY HOLE. AS THEY SAW THEIR FEW THOUSAND
DOLLARS DRAINING DOWN DRAKE'S WELL, THE INVESTORS
GREW INCREASINGLY WARY. FINALLY, IN AUGUST 1859,
TOWNSEND SENT DRAKE THE LAST OF THE MONEY
AND TOLD HIM TO CLOSE OUT THE OPERATION AND RETURN HOME.
TOWNSEND'S LETTER ARRIVED ON MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 1859,
BUT TO HIS EVERLASTING GRATITUDE,
IT WAS ONE DAY TOO LATE. FOR ON SUNDAY, THE 28th,
WITH THE WELL AT 69 1/2 FEET, EDWIN DRAKE LOOKED DOWN
THE HOLE AND SAW SOMETHING DARK FLOATING TO THE SURFACE.
WHEN HE ASKED WHAT IT WAS, UNCLE BILLY ANSWERED SIMPLY,
"THAT'S YOUR FORTUNE." THE OIL AGE HAD JUST BEGUN.
THE WELL PRODUCED 35 BARRELS OF OIL A DAY.
EACH BARREL HELD 40 GALLONS, AND THEY SOLD IT
FOR $40 A BARREL-- ALMOST $700 A BARREL
IN TODAY'S DOLLARS. WITHIN DAYS, THE FIRST OIL BOOM
WAS UNDER WAY. THE POPULATION OF TITUSVILLE
QUADRUPLED OVERNIGHT, AND LAND PRICES SKYROCKETED
AS TRAINLOADS OF NEWCOMERS CONVERGED ON THE TOWN
WITH MONEY IN THEIR HANDS AND GREED IN THEIR HEARTS.
LITTLE MORE THAN A YEAR LATER, TITUSVILLE HAD 75 WELLS
PRODUCING OIL AND 15 REFINERIES
DISTILLING KEROSENE. A LOCAL NEWSPAPER EDITOR
WROTE OF THE PERIOD: >> "THE OIL AND LAND EXCITEMENT
IN THIS SECTION HAS ALREADY BECOME A SORT OF EPIDEMIC.
IT EMBRACES ALL CLASSES AND AGES AND CONDITIONS OF MEN.
THEY NEITHER TALK NOR LOOK NOR ACT AS THEY DID
SIX MONTHS AGO. LAND LEASES, CONTRACTS,
REFUSALS, DEED ARRANGEMENTS, INTERESTS,
AND ALL THAT SORT OF TALK IS ALL THEY CAN COMPREHEND."
>> narrator: AMONG THOSE WHO GOT RICH WERE INVESTORS
GEORGE BISSELL AND JOHN TOWNSEND.
AMONG THOSE WHO DIDN'T WAS COLONEL EDWIN DRAKE.
A POOR BUSINESSMAN, DRAKE DID NOT PATENT
ANY OF HIS INVENTIONS, LIKE THE SINKING OF A STOVEPIPE
DOWN THE WELL TO HOLD WATER OUT AND KEEP THE WELL
FROM COLLAPSING. WHAT MONEY HE DID MAKE
HE LOST IN BAD INVESTMENTS AND DIED A VIRTUAL
WARD OF THE STATE, BITTER ABOUT THE FORTUNES
OTHERS HAD AMASSED FROM HIS DISCOVERY.
IT WAS WRITTEN OF HIM WHEN HE DIED:
"HE SHOOK THE BOUGHS FOR OTHERS TO GATHER THE FRUITS."
DRAKE'S DISCOVERY IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA
LIT UP THE GLOBE. TODAY, IN THE 20th CENTURY,
IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE THE IMPACT KEROSENE COULD HAVE ON
THE WORLD OF THE 19th CENTURY, BUT IT REVOLUTIONIZED SOCIETY.
AS LARGE AMOUNTS OF OIL WERE PUMPED UP FROM THE UNDERGROUND
RESERVOIR DRAKE HAD TAPPED, VIRTUALLY OVERNIGHT, KEROSENE
BECAME THE DOMINANT SOURCE OF HOME ILLUMINATION
IN AMERICA AND EUROPE. >> YOU PROBABLY BOUGHT IT
FROM A STREET VENDOR IF YOU LIVED IN A CITY.
IF YOU LIVED IN A SMALL TOWN, AS A LOT OF AMERICANS STILL DID,
YOU ALMOST CERTAINLY BOUGHT KEROSENE AT A GENERAL STORE.
>> narrator: COMPARED TO $5 A GALLON FOR WHALE OIL,
KEROSENE PRICES VARIED FROM 10¢ TO 25¢ A GALLON.
FROM DRAKE'S 35 BARRELS A DAY IN 1859,
THE PENNSYLVANIA OIL REGION WAS, ONLY THREE YEARS LATER,
SHIPPING OUT MORE THAN 8,000 BARRELS OF CRUDE OIL A DAY.
HUGE REFINERIES OPENED UP IN MAJOR CITIES ALONG THE RAIL
LINES WHERE THE OIL WAS SENT. BY 1865, CLEVELAND ALONE
HAD 30 REFINERIES. LIKE THE REST OF THE BURGEONING
YOUNG OIL INDUSTRY, REFINING, TOO,
WAS A ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE, CUTTHROAT BUSINESS.
AND NO ONE WAS MORE PERFECTLY SUITED TO IT THAN A YOUNG
CLEVELAND BUSINESSMAN WHO OWNED THE CITY'S
LARGEST REFINING PLANT. HIS NAME WAS
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, AND HIS DARK GENIUS FOR THE OIL
BUSINESS WOULD SOON MAKE HIM THE RICHEST AND MOST REVILED MAN
IN AMERICA. >> JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER
GOT INTO THE OIL BUSINESS WITH A DRY GOODS WHOLESALING PARTNER
DURING THE CIVIL WAR-- GOT INTO IT IN A SMALL WAY WITH
A FAIRLY CONVENTIONAL REFINERY, DISPOSING OF MOST OF HIS GOODS
IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY OF CLEVELAND.
>> narrator: BY RELENTLESSLY POURING PROFITS
BACK INTO HIS BUSINESS, ROCKEFELLER EXPANDED
TO A SECOND REFINERY, THEN TO AN EXPORT BUSINESS
TO SERVICE EUROPE. HE BOUGHT BOATS, TANKER CARS,
STORAGE FACILITIES. FINALLY, IN 1870,
HE CONSOLIDATED ALL HIS BUSINESSES UNDER ONE NAME:
THE STANDARD OIL COMPANY. BY THAT POINT, ROCKEFELLER
ALREADY CONTROLLED 1/10 OF THE ENTIRE AMERICAN
REFINING INDUSTRY. BUT THAT WASN'T ENOUGH.
HE WANTED NOTHING LESS THAN TO CONTROL IT ALL.
IN THE 1870s, ROCKEFELLER'S PURSUIT OF INDUSTRY CONTROL
SET A NEW STANDARD OF RUTHLESSNESS.
BRIBERY, EXTORTION, COLLUSION, AND INTIMIDATION WERE JUST SOME
OF THE WEAPONS HE USED. THOSE COMPETITORS
HE COULDN'T TAKE OVER, HE DROVE OUT OF BUSINESS.
BY 1880, STANDARD OIL CONTROLLED 90% OF THE NATION'S
REFINING CAPACITY. BY 1890, JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER
WAS THE WEALTHIEST MAN IN AMERICA.
HE MOVED TO NEW YORK, DIVIDING HIS TIME BETWEEN
AN OPULENT MANHATTAN TOWN HOUSE AND A VAST ESTATE IN THE COUNTRY
NORTH OF THE CITY. BUT ACQUIRING THAT LEVEL OF
WEALTH HAD ALSO MADE ROCKEFELLER ONE OF THE MOST FEARED AND HATED
MEN IN THE COUNTRY. MOTHERS WARNED THEIR CHILDREN
TO BE GOOD, OR "ROCKEFELLER WILL GET YOU."
>> ROCKEFELLER REALLY BECAME A POPULAR TARGET LARGELY BECAUSE
HE HAD VERY LITTLE SENSITIVITY TO WHAT WE, TODAY,
WOULD CALL PUBLIC IMAGE OR PUBLIC REPUTATION.
PUBLIC OPINION WAS CERTAINLY THAT HE WAS AN AVARICIOUS,
RUTHLESS KIND OF PERSON. >> narrator: BUT AS
STANDARD OIL'S STRANGLEHOLD ON THE INDUSTRY GREW,
SO DID ASSAULTS ON ROCKEFELLER'S MONOPOLISTIC PRACTICES.
IN 1904, IMMEDIATELY AFTER HIS ELECTION,
PRESIDENT TEDDY ROOSEVELT LAUNCHED AN INVESTIGATION
OF STANDARD OIL. TWO YEARS LATER, THE GOVERNMENT
BROUGHT SUIT AGAINST THE COMPANY UNDER ANTITRUST PROVISIONS.
ROOSEVELT CALLED STANDARD'S EXECUTIVES "THE BIGGEST
CRIMINALS IN THE COUNTRY." THE CASE WAS IN THE COURTS
FOR FIVE YEARS. BUT IN 1911, WHILE HE WAS
HUNTING BIG GAME IN AFRICA, ROOSEVELT GOT THE GOOD NEWS:
STANDARD OIL WOULD BE DISMANTLED INTO NUMEROUS SMALLER COMPANIES.
ROCKEFELLER HAD LOST HIS MONOPOLY FOR GOOD.
THE BREAKUP OF STANDARD OIL HARDLY MEANT THE END
OF MASSIVE FORTUNES TO BE MADE FROM OIL,
ESPECIALLY SINCE A MARKET 100 TIMES LARGER THAN KEROSENE
WAS ABOUT TO EMERGE. AMERICA WAS ABOUT TO GO
CAR CRAZY. REFINING KEROSENE HAD ALWAYS
LEFT PRODUCERS WITH A HAZARDOUS AND UNWANTED BY-PRODUCT
THAT WAS USUALLY JUST PUMPED INTO PITS AND BURNED.
IT WAS CALLED GASOLINE. BUT IN GARAGES ALL OVER EUROPE
AND AMERICA, INVENTORS WERE TINKERING
WITH SOMETHING KNOWN AS THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE,
AND GASOLINE TURNED OUT TO BE JUST THE RIGHT FUEL
TO PUT IT ON THE ROAD. BY THE TURN OF THE CENTURY,
THE AUTOMOBILE WAS "A MAJOR SENSATION,"
SAID FRANK PHILLIPS, FOUNDER OF PHILLIPS PETROLEUM.
>> "I THINK PEOPLE ARE GONNA BUY QUITE A PASSEL OF THESE
LITTLE GASOLINE BUGGIES, AND THEY NEED GASOLINE
TO MAKE THEM GO. IT MAY BE THE THING
OF THE FUTURE." >> narrator: AUTOMOBILE
REGISTRATIONS, WHICH NUMBERED 8,000 NATIONWIDE IN 1900,
SKYROCKETED TO 900,000 12 YEARS LATER.
THE MARKET FOR GASOLINE WAS SUDDENLY ENORMOUS,
AND NEW SUPPLIES OF OIL WERE DESPERATELY NEEDED
TO FILL THE TANKS OF THESE NEW TIN LIZZIES.
NEW OIL FIELDS WERE DISCOVERED IN WEST VIRGINIA, OHIO,
AND INDIANA. NEAR THE TURN OF THE CENTURY,
A LARGE FIELD WAS DISCOVERED IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA,
AND BY 1910, CALIFORNIA LED THE WORLD IN OIL PRODUCTION,
MOST OF IT CONTROLLED BY THE UNION OIL COMPANY.
AND THE OIL FIELDS BECAME A BACKDROP
FOR THE NEW MOVIE INDUSTRY DEVELOPING IN HOLLYWOOD.
BUT ALL THIS OIL STILL WASN'T ENOUGH
TO QUENCH THE INSATIABLE THIRST OF THE AUTOMOBILE.
WHAT THE WORLD NEEDED WAS A HUGE, NEW SOURCE OF OIL,
AND THE MAN WHO WOULD GIVE IT TO THEM WAS PATTILLO HIGGINS.
A ONE-ARMED LUMBERMAN FROM BEAUMONT, TEXAS,
HIGGINS WAS FASCINATED BY AN AREA OUTSIDE BEAUMONT
KNOWN AS BIG HILL, WHERE SULFUR WATER AND GAS
SEEPED UP THROUGH THE SOIL. HIGGINS BELIEVED THERE WAS OIL
TO BE FOUND THERE TOO. >> HE JUST HAD AN IDEA.
IT WAS A HUNCH. LET'S CALL IT DIVINE,
IF YOU WANT TO. IN FACT, IN THE EARLY DAYS,
MORE OF OIL AND GAS WAS FOUND BY PEOPLE DRILLING
BY THE SEAT OF THEIR PANTS AND DIDN'T WORRY ABOUT
GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS. >> narrator: TILL THAT TIME,
THE OIL THAT HAD BEEN TAPPED WAS FOUND BETWEEN THE EARTH'S
SURFACE IN THE FIRST THICK LAYER OF UNDERGROUND ROCK.
BUT HIGGINS BELIEVED THERE COULD BE OIL UNDERNEATH THAT ROCK,
OIL UNDER GREAT PRESSURE, GREAT ENOUGH TO FORCE UP THE
GASES BIG HILL WAS KNOWN FOR. THE GEOLOGISTS HE BROUGHT TO
THE SITE ALL DISMISSED BIG HILL AS OIL FIELD MATERIAL,
AND IN SEVEN YEARS OF TRYING TO PROVE THEM WRONG,
HIGGINS HAD NOTHING BUT THREE DRY HOLES
TO SHOW FOR IT. >> HE PUT AN AD IN THE PAPER
ABOUT HOW HE WANTED TO DRILL THIS WELL, WHERE IT WAS,
AND EVERYTHING ELSE. AND HE ONLY GOT ONE REPLY,
AND THAT WAS FROM ANTHONY LUCAS. >> narrator: ANTHONY LUCAS
WAS A MINING ENGINEER AND FORMER CAPTAIN
IN THE AUSTRIAN NAVY WHO THOUGHT HIGGINS MIGHT BE RIGHT.
HE FORMED A GROUP OF INVESTORS, GIVING HIGGINS 10%
AS A FINDER'S FEE, AND, IN OCTOBER OF 1900,
BEGAN DRILLING IN AN AREA OF THE HILL
KNOWN AS SPINDLETOP HEIGHTS. THE TYPE OF DRILLING SYSTEM
LUCAS AND HIGGINS USED WAS KNOWN AS A ROTARY RIG
AND IS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME DRILLING SYSTEM
USED TO FIND OIL TODAY. >> THIS DERRICK IS USED
TO SUPPORT THE WEIGHT OF THE DRILLING PIPE.
AS YOU DRILL, YOU'RE COMING IN AND OUT OF THE HOLE,
AND YOU NEED A HUGE BLOCK AND TACKLE,
ESSENTIALLY, IS WHAT IT IS, THAT WILL PULL THIS PIPE OUT
AND PULL UP NEW JOINTS TO SCREW IN TO MAKE DEEPER HOLE.
SO YOU HAVE TO HAVE A VERY, VERY STRONG DERRICK
TO SUPPORT THAT WEIGHT. WHEN THEY'RE DRILLING
THESE WELLS, THEY HAVE A BIT ON THE END OF THE PIPE,
AND THEY START THEIR HOLE AND GO DOWN.
AND EVERY TIME THEY WANT TO GO DEEPER, THEY JUST SCREW ON
ANOTHER 30 FOOT OF DRILL PIPE. AND THEY JUST KEEP TURNING
TO THE RIGHT, AND THE MUD GOES DOWN THE CENTER OF THE PIPE
AND GOES THROUGH THE BIT AND OUT THE OUTSIDE
IN BETWEEN IT AND WHERE IT HAS CUT THE HOLE.
SO IT WILL TAKE OUT THE CUTTING. >> narrator: USING
A STEAM-POWERED DRILL AND CREW OF FOUR,
LUCAS HIT SOLID ROCK AT 900 FEET,
THE ROCK PATTILLO HIGGINS BELIEVED SAT ON TOP OF THE OIL.
WITH NEW DRILL BITS DESIGNED FOR BORING THROUGH ROCK,
LUCAS PUSHED ON-- PAST 1,000 FEET,
THEN 1,100 FEET. ON JANUARY 10, 1901,
AT 1,160 FEET, THE BIT BROKE THROUGH THE ROCK.
SUDDENLY THE WELL BEGAN SPITTING UP MUD, THEN LENGTHS
OF THE DRILL PIPE ITSELF, PLUS GAS AND ROCKS.
AND THEN, FINALLY, OIL, TOO, BEGAN SHOOTING UP INTO THE SKY
WITH TREMENDOUS FORCE, 150 FEET HIGH.
>> IT WAS PANDEMONIUM. EVERYBODY WENT CRAZY.
LUCAS WAS IN HIS HOME, AND HE WAS--
SOMEBODY CAME RUNNING UP TO THE HOUSE AND SAID,
"IT'S IN! IT'S IN! IT'S IN!" AND THERE WAS A MAN
THAT WAS WORKING IN THE RICE FIELDS NEARBY,
AND HE TURNED AROUND TO HIS FELLOW WORKER,
AND HE SAID, "MY GOD, WHAT A GUSHER."
AND THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME THE WORDGUSHER WAS APPLIED
TO THAT WELL OR ANY OTHER WELL. >> narrator: IT TOOK THE DRILL
TEAM AWHILE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS HAPPENING,
BECAUSE THERE HAD NEVER BEEN A GUSHER BEFORE.
IN PREVIOUS WELLS, OIL HAD ALWAYS FLOWED MEEKLY
OR BEEN PUMPED TO THE SURFACE. BUT THIS WAS OIL UNDER PRESSURE,
IMMENSE PRESSURE, JUST THE WAY PATTILLO HIGGINS
ENVISIONED IT. >> THERE HAD BEEN SOME
RELATIVELY BIG WELLS IN PENNSYLVANIA,
BUT BIG WELLS USUALLY MEANT 5,000 BARRELS A DAY.
SPINDLETOP CAME IN MASSIVELY ON JANUARY 10th OF 1901.
THE AMOUNT OF OIL PRODUCED THAT FIRST DAY IS USUALLY STATED
AT ABOUT 100,000 BARRELS. >> narrator: WITHIN TWO DAYS
OF THE STRIKE, MORE THAN 10,000 PEOPLE
CAME TO BEAUMONT TO SEE THE LARGEST OIL STRIKE
IN HISTORY AND TO LAUNCH A LAND AND OIL BOOM
THAT PUT TITUSVILLE TO SHAME. FOUR ACRES OF LAND THAT SOLD
FOR $60 ONE MONTH WERE RESOLD FOR $100,000 THE NEXT.
IT WAS HARD NOT TO GET RICH. BY YEAR'S END, THERE WERE NEARLY
500 MORE GUSHERS ON BIG HILL. LUCAS SOLD OUT FOR $400,000
AND 1,000 SHARES IN THE COMPANY HIS INVESTORS FORMED,
WHICH WENT ON TO BECOME GULF OIL AND MADE LUCAS
EXTREMELY WEALTHY. PATTILLO HIGGINS HAD TO SUE
TO GET HIS SHARE AND ENDED UP ACCEPTING A SETTLEMENT
THAT BROUGHT HIM MORE THAN $1 MILLION.
BUT HE LOST MOST OF IT THE SAME WAY HE EARNED IT--
SEARCHING FOR THE NEXT BIG STRIKE.
>> PATTILLO HIGGINS' GREAT PROBLEM WAS THAT HE HAD AN
IMAGINATION THAT WAS MUCH VASTER THAN HIS ABILITY
TO CONTROL MONEY. HE REALLY WAS A VISIONARY.
HE WAS A KIND OF ROMANTIC LOOSE IN AMERICAN BUSINESS.
IN A SENSE, HE NEEDED A BEAN COUNTER.
AND HAD HE HAD A BEAN COUNTER, PATTILLO HIGGINS MIGHT HAVE
DIED RICH. >> narrator: BUT WHEN HE DIED
IN 1955, PATTILLO HIGGINS WASN'T BITTER.
EVEN THOUGH HIS MONEY HADN'T LASTED LONG,
HE KNEW HIS NAME WOULD LIVE ON FOREVER.
HE HAD PUT TEXAS ON THE OIL MAP.
IN 1914, THE WORLD WENT TO WAR. AT FIRST, IT WAS FOUGHT
IN MUCH THE SAME WAY ALL PREVIOUS WARS WERE--
BY INFANTRY TROOPS WHO MARCHED TO BATTLE.
BUT BY THE TIME THE UNITED STATES ENTERED THE WAR IN 1917,
THE FACE OF WAR WAS CHANGING. THE BIGGEST CHANGE OF ALL
WAS BROUGHT ABOUT BY OIL. THE WORLD'S FIRST TANKS
TOOK TO BATTLE IN 1916, TRUCKS TOOK OVER FROM TRAINS
AS THE PRIMARY MODE OF TROOP TRANSPORTATION,
AND THE WAR PUSHED THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AIRPLANE
FROM A MERE OBJECT OF CURIOSITY TO THE FOREFRONT OF TECHNOLOGY.
IN ITS YEAR AND A HALF IN THE WAR, THE U.S. SENT 50,000
GASOLINE-POWERED VEHICLES TO FRANCE
AND PRODUCED 15,000 PLANES. WHEN THE WAR ENDED,
BRITAIN'S LORD CURZON DECLARED: >> "THE ALLIED CAUSE HAD FLOATED
TO VICTORY UPON A WAVE OF OIL. AMERICAN OIL
AND HARDLY ANY OTHER MADE UP THAT WAVE OF PETROLEUM
ON WHICH THE WAR WAS WON." >> narrator: AFTER THE WAR,
DEMAND FOR GASOLINE AND THUS FOR OIL
CONTINUED TO SURGE, AND PRODUCTION BARELY KEPT UP
WITH DEMAND. NEW SOURCES WERE DESPERATELY
NEEDED, AND ONCE AGAIN, ONE OF THE OIL INDUSTRY'S
MOST UNLIKED CHARACTERS WOULD STEP FORWARD TO DELIVER IT
NOT WITH JUST ANOTHER STRIKE BUT WITH THE BIGGEST
OF THEM ALL. HIS NAME WAS DAD JOINER,
A 70-YEAR-OLD TEXAS OILMAN WHO HAD NOTHING GOING FOR HIM
BUT NERVE AND LUCK, AND MOST OF THAT BAD.
WITH LITTLE INCOME AFTER YEARS OF ONE DRY HOLE AFTER ANOTHER,
DAD MOSTLY LIVED OFF THE KINDNESS OF WELL-TO-DO WIDOWS,
WHOM HE CULTIVATED THROUGHOUT TEXAS.
SAID DAD: >> "WELL, EVERY WOMAN HAS A
CERTAIN PLACE ON HER NECK, SEE, AND WHEN I TOUCH IT, HEH-HEH,
THEY AUTOMATICALLY START WRITING ME A CHECK."
>> HE WAS A GOOD MAN. REALLY, HE WAS.
HE MIGHT HAVE ROMANCED ALL OF THEM.
AND AT 72 YEARS OLD, I GIVE HIM CREDIT FOR DOING
WHATEVER HE COULD. HE WAS A PROMOTER.
LET'S FACE IT. AND HE WOULD PROMOTE ENOUGH
ABOVE THE COST OF THE WELL TO ALWAYS KEEP SOME
IN HIS POCKET. >> narrator: ONE OF JOINER'S
WIDOWS, DAISY BRADFORD, OWNED A FARM IN RUSK COUNTY
IN EAST TEXAS THAT DAD THOUGHT MIGHT HOLD OIL,
AND IN 1927, HE BEGAN DRILLING FOR IT.
GEOLOGISTS AND OIL EXPERTS TOLD DAD THERE WAS NO CHANCE
OIL WOULD BE FOUND THERE, BUT LIKE PATTILLO HIGGINS
BEFORE HIM, DAD JUST HAD A GOOD FEELING ABOUT THE SITE.
OFTEN PAYING HIS WORKERS WITH DUBIOUS SHARES
IN FUTURE PROFITS, HE DRILLED FOR THREE YEARS
USING BEAT-UP AND BORROWED EQUIPMENT.
IN SEPTEMBER 1930, THERE WAS A SIGN THAT DAD'S LUCK
MIGHT FINALLY BE CHANGING. AT 3,500 FEET, THE CREW HIT SAND
THAT SEEMED TO HAVE OIL IN IT. A MONTH LATER, ON OCTOBER 3rd,
A GURGLING SOUND COULD BE HEARD FROM THE WELL.
THE DRILLING CREW CHIEF SHOUTED TO THE CROWD,
"PUT OUT YOUR CIGARETTES, QUICK!"
WITH A ROAR, OIL BEGAN SPOUTING OVER THE TOP OF THE DERRICK.
DAD JOINER HAD FINALLY FOUND BLACK GOLD.
NOT ONLY THAT; IT WAS A SPECTACULAR FIND--
AN OIL FIELD THAT PROVED TO BE 45 MILES LONG
AND 5 TO 10 MILES WIDE. IT DWARFED TITUSVILLE,
SPINDLETOP, AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
PUT TOGETHER. >> THE FIELD TURNED OUT TO BE,
WELL, PROPORTIONATE TO A SIGNIFICANT PART OF
THE WHOLE STATE OF CONNECTICUT IN THE END--
TRULY MASSIVE IN EXTENT AND ALSO IN PRODUCTION.
>> IT HAS PRODUCED TODAY CLOSE TO 7 BILLION BARRELS
OF OIL. THERE WAS NOTHING LIKE IT.
IT WAS THE LARGEST DISCOVERY AT THAT TIME IN THE ENTIRE
WESTERN HEMISPHERE. >> narrator: SEVEN MONTHS
AFTER DAD HIT IT BIG, 1,000 WELLS
HAD ALREADY BEEN DRILLED, AND THE EAST TEXAS OIL FIELD
NOW KNOWN AS THE BLACK GIANT WAS PRODUCING
500,000 BARRELS A DAY-- THE EQUIVALENT OF ENOUGH
GASOLINE TO DRIVE TO JUPITER. DAD JOINER MADE $1 1/2 MILLION
ON HIS FIND, AND IN TRUE-TO-FORM MANNER,
HE SPENT EVERY PENNY OF IT SEARCHING VAINLY
FOR ANOTHER BLACK GIANT AND ROMANCING A LONG STRING
OF YOUNG WOMEN. WHEN HE DIED AT AGE 87,
HE WAS LIVING ON DONATIONS FROM OTHERS HE HAD HELPED MAKE RICH.
THE EAST TEXAS STRIKE JOLTED GEOLOGISTS
OUT OF THEIR COMPLACENT BELIEF THAT FINDING OIL WAS SIMPLY
A MATTER OF IDENTIFYING THE CORRECT SURFACE FEATURES.
AND IT USHERED IN A NEW ERA OF ADVANCES, MANY OF WHICH CAME
DIRECTLY FROM NEW TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED DURING WORLD WAR I.
THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT WERE THE AIRPLANE
AND THE SEISMOGRAPH. WITH THE AIRPLANE,
THE GEOLOGISTS TOOK IN A MUCH BROADER PERSPECTIVE
OF SURFACE GEOLOGY THAN THEY COULD GET FROM THE GROUND.
>> PHOTOGEOLOGY, REALLY, IS WHAT IT WAS.
AND THEY WOULD USE IT, AND THEN THEY WOULD SEND
GEOLOGISTS ON THE GROUND TO LOOK AT THESE AREAS.
SO AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY HAS BEEN IMPORTANT IN ALL INDUSTRY.
I DON'T THINK IT'S-- IT'S USED NOW
IN SATELLITE PHOTOGRAPHY THAT-- THEY'RE USING IT WORLDWIDE
TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, THE BIG PICTURE.
>> narrator: THE SEISMOGRAPH, WHICH MEASURED SHOCK WAVES
PASSING THROUGH THE EARTH AND WAS ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED
TO MONITOR EARTHQUAKES, WAS USED DURING WORLD WAR I
TO PINPOINT ENEMY ARTILLERY BATTERIES.
AFTER THE WAR, GEOLOGISTS DISCOVERED THEY COULD
SET OFF EXPLOSIVE CHARGES AND RECORD THE ENERGY WAVES
THAT BOUNCED BACK ON THE SEISMOGRAPH.
THE FORM OF THESE WAVES HELPED THEM PLOT THE SHAPE AND DEPTH
OF UNDERGROUND FORMATIONS. JUST AS OIL HAD POWERED THE WAR,
THE INNOVATIONS OF THE BATTLEFIELD WERE NOW
HELPING PRODUCE MORE OIL. BUT AS THE 1940s APPROACHED,
THE PENDULUM WAS ABOUT TO SWING BACK AGAIN TO WAR.
AND WHOEVER CONTROLLED THE OIL COULD CONTROL THE BATTLEFIELD.
WORLD WAR II WAS A MECHANIZED WAR
THE LIKES OF WHICH HAD NEVER BEEN SEEN.
ARMIES NO LONGER MOVED ON THEIR STOMACHS.
THEY MOVED IN HUGE FLEETS OF TANKS, TRUCKS, JEEPS,
SHIPS, AND PLANES. AND KEEPING THEM MOVING REQUIRED
OCEANS OF GASOLINE AND OIL, MOST OF IT FROM DAD JOINER'S
EAST TEXAS BLACK GIANT. >> THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC
IS BEING FOUGHT WITH OIL AND WILL BE WON BY OIL.
>> narrator: BUT A SERIOUS PROBLEM WAS GETTING THAT OIL
FROM THE LONE STAR STATE TO THE INDUSTRIALIZED EAST,
WHERE THE MAJOR WAR PLANTS AND SHIPPING YARDS WERE,
AND TO THE EUROPEAN THEATER ITSELF.
>> GREAT PROBLEM THAT THEER UNITED STATES HAD IN 1940, '41
WAS THAT WITH THE BEGINNING OF THE EUROPEAN WAR,
GERMANY BEGAN SUBMARINE WARFARE IN THE AREA OFF THE TEXAS GULF.
AND THEY DID DESTROY A NUMBER OF TANKERS.
THEY MADE IT VERY RISKY AND VERY DANGEROUS TO TRY
TO SHIP VERY MUCH CRUDE OIL OR FINISHED PRODUCT
IN THAT PARTICULAR WAY. >> narrator: EXTRA TRAINS
WENT TO WORK RUNNING TANKER CARS ROUND THE CLOCK
TO KEEP THE OIL FLOWING, BUT IT STILL WASN'T ENOUGH.
WITH THE FATE OF THE WAR EFFORT HANGING IN THE BALANCE,
THE NATION'S OILMEN MADE A DARING PROPOSAL.
THEY WANTED TO BUILD THE BIGGEST AND LONGEST PIPELINE
ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH-- TWO FEET IN DIAMETER,
LARGE ENOUGH FOR A MAN TO CRAWL THROUGH,
AND RUNNING ALL THE WAY FROM HOUSTON TO NEW YORK.
THEY CALLED IT THE BIG INCH PIPELINE.
BUT THE $70-MILLION COST AND THE MASSIVE ALLOTMENT
OF WARTIME STEEL MADE IT A DIFFICULT PROPOSAL
TO SELL IN WASHINGTON. >> STEEL WAS A STRATEGIC
COMMODITY AT THE TIME. IF YOU LOOK WITHIN
THE REGULATORY PARTS OF THE GOVERNMENT,
THERE WAS A KIND OF WAR GOING ON INTERNALLY IN AMERICA
BETWEEN PARTS OF THE ECONOMY THAT WANTED SUPPLIES
AND MATERIALS. AND THE PEOPLE WHO WANTED
TO PROMOTE BIG INCH, LITTLE INCH WERE COMPETING WITH THE PEOPLE
WHO WERE BUILDING TANKS AND SO ON.
>> narrator: IT TOOK A YEAR, AND THE FINAL AND BEST ARGUMENT
CAME IN THE FORM OF NAZI TORPEDOES.
BY EARLY 1942, GERMAN SUBS WERE SINKING AN AVERAGE
OF THREE TANKERS PER DAY. IN AUGUST 1942,
AN ARMY OF 15,000 WORKERS BEGAN THE HERCULEAN TASK
OF BUILDING A 1,200-MILE-LONG PIPELINE OVER RIVERS, SWAMPS,
AND MOUNTAIN RANGES. IT WAS A DEMANDING TASK
AND ON AN IMPOSSIBLE TIMETABLE. ROUTES WERE SURVEYED
AND CLEARED. TRENCHES THREE FEET WIDE
AND FOUR FEET DEEP WERE DUG. 40-FOOT SECTIONS OF PIPE
WERE WELDED TOGETHER IN THE TRENCHES AND THEN COVERED.
THE WORK WENT ON IN EVEN THE HARSHEST OF WINTER WEATHER.
THE PIPELINE WAS PUSHED NORTH AT RECORD SPEED,
ALMOST FOUR MILES A DAY-- FROM HOUSTON TO ILLINOIS,
THEN EAST TO PHILADELPHIA AND NEW YORK.
ON NEW YEAR'S EVE, 1942, BARELY FOUR MONTHS
AFTER CONSTRUCTION BEGAN, THE FIRST OIL WAS FED
INTO THE PIPELINE. SO DESPERATE
WAS THE NEED FOR OIL THAT THE LAST LEG OF THE LINE
HADN'T EVEN BEEN COMPLETED YET. BUT IT TOOK 3 1/2 DAYS FOR
THE OIL TO TRAVEL THE 1,254-MILE LENGTH OF THE PIPE,
AND BY THE TIME THE FIRST OIL ARRIVED,
THE LAST LEG WAS IN PLACE AND WAITING.
WITH SO MUCH OF THE COUNTRY'S OIL OUTPUT DIVERTED TO WAR,
CONSUMERS AT HOME FACED SHORTAGES.
>> BECAUSE OF THE NECESSITY OF DIVERTING TANKERS
TO SATISFY AND FULFILL THE REQUIREMENTS
OF THE ARMY AND NAVY, YOUR GOVERNMENT HAS FOUND IT
NECESSARY TO RATION GASOLINE ON THE EASTERN SEABOARD.
>> narrator: BUT CONSUMERS' PATIENCE WOULD BE REWARDED
WITH NOT ONLY AN ALLIED VICTORY BUT WITH A REVOLUTION
IN POSTWAR CONSUMER GOODS. IT WOULD COME FROM OIL
SCIENTISTS WHOSE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WAR WERE AS GREAT
AS ANY SOLDIER'S. MUCH AS GASOLINE
WAS A BY-PRODUCT OF KEROSENE PRODUCTION,
SUBSTANCES LIKE ETHANE, PROPANE, AND BENZENE WERE BY-PRODUCTS
OF GASOLINE PRODUCTION. AND IN LABORATORIES
ACROSS THE COUNTRY, SCIENTISTS EXPERIMENTING
WITH THESE NEW SUBSTANCES, CALLED PETROCHEMICALS,
TURNED THEM INTO NEW PRODUCTS-- PLASTIC, SYNTHETIC FIBERS,
BONDING CEMENT. WHEN U.S. BOMBERS ATTACKED
TOKYO, THEIR RADAR CABLES WERE SHIELDED WITH
A NEWLY DEVELOPED SUBSTANCE CALLED POLYETHYLENE.
WHEN ALLIED PARATROOPERS LANDED BEHIND THE LINES
AT THE BEACHES OF NORMANDY, THEIR PARACHUTES WERE MADE
OF NYLON. >> PROBABLY THE MOST WELL-KNOWN
CONSUMER PRODUCTS WERE NYLON, ORLON, AND ALL OF THE RELATED
KINDS OF FIBERS TO PROVIDE MATERIAL THAT HAD
VERY HIGH TENSILE STRENGTH AND VERY LOW WEIGHT--
SOMETHING THAT YOU COULDN'T DO WITH COTTON.
YOU WOULDN'T REALLY WANT TO JUMP OUT OF A MILITARY PLANE
AT A GREAT HEIGHT IN A COTTON PARACHUTE,
FOR EXAMPLE, WITH COTTON HARNESSES AND SO ON.
SO THERE WERE REALLY SPECIAL OPERATIONAL PROBLEMS
THAT SYNTHETIC FIBERS ULTIMATELY ADDRESSED DURING THE WAR.
>> narrator: AND AFTER THE WAR, TURNING THESE NEW PRODUCTS
INTO CONSUMER GOODS FOR A VICTORIOUS, BABY-BOOMING
NEW LEISURE CLASS MADE THE PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY
THE GROWTH INDUSTRY IN AMERICA. IN FACT, FROM HULA HOOPS
TO HOME CARPETING, AMERICANS EMBRACED
THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY WITH VIGOR, AND PETROCHEMICAL SALES
AVERAGED A 10% ANNUAL INCREASE EVERY YEAR
FOR WELL OVER TWO DECADES. THE POSTWAR BABY BOOM MEANT
MILLIONS OF NEW MOUTHS TO FEED, AND OIL-BASED FERTILIZERS
AND PESTICIDES MADE POSSIBLE THE AGRICULTURAL ADVANCES
TO FEED THEM. BUT ALL THIS
PLUS THE NEW GENERATION OF GAS-GUZZLING LUXURY CARS
CREATED YET ANOTHER MASSIVE CHANGE IN THE OIL INDUSTRY.
DEMAND SO FAR OUTSTRIPPED SUPPLY THAT BY THE 1950s,
AMERICA COULD NO LONGER SUPPLY ITS OIL NEEDS ITSELF.
THE NEW SOURCE FOR OIL FOR THE WORLD WAS THE MIDEAST.
IN 1938, A STANDARD OIL OF CALIFORNIA EXPLORATORY WELL
IN SAUDI ARABIA CAME IN BIG. THAT SAME YEAR, DRILLERS HIT
A MASSIVE FIND IN KUWAIT. WITH POSTWAR DEVELOPMENT
OF THESE ENORMOUS OIL FIELDS, VAST QUANTITIES OF CHEAP OIL
WAS SOON POURING OUT OF THE MIDEAST.
BUT GETTING IT TO AMERICA IN THE QUANTITIES NOW NEEDED
POSED A MAJOR PROBLEM. THE OIL TANKERS OF THE TIME
WERE SIMPLY TOO SMALL. THE FIRST OIL TANKER
WAS BUILT IN 1886 AND HAD A CAPACITY OF 300 TONS.
TANKER SIZE INCREASED GRADUALLY TO ABOUT 300 FEET
AND 10,000 TO 15,000 TONS AND STAYED THERE
UNTIL AFTER WORLD WAR II. BUT THE POSTWAR INCREASES WERE
NOTHING SHORT OF ASTOUNDING. IN 1950, THE LARGEST TANKERS
IN THE WORLD WERE 500 FEET LONG AND HAD A CAPACITY
OF 25,000 TONS. BY 1975,
THEY WERE 1,400 FEET LONG-- ALMOST FIVE FOOTBALL FIELDS--
WITH A CAPACITY OF 500,000 TONS. THE OIL IS HELD IN NUMEROUS
COMPARTMENTS DESIGNED TO GIVE THE SHIPS STABILITY.
THEY ALSO HAVE DOUBLE HULLS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST PUNCTURES
IN CASE OF ACCIDENTS. THE TANKERS ARE FULLY
COMPUTERIZED AND OPERATE WITH A CREW OF ONLY 20 TO 25--
1/3 THE NUMBER OF MEN COLUMBUS NEEDED ON HIS TINY FLAGSHIP,
THESANTA MARIA. TODAY'S TANKERS HAVE GROWN
SO HUGE, THEY OFTEN CAN'T EVEN COME TO SHORE.
THERE AREN'T PIERS BIG ENOUGH OR HARBORS DEEP ENOUGH
TO HOLD THEM. THEY ANCHOR OFFSHORE
AND DISGORGE THEIR OIL THROUGH FLEXIBLE PIPELINES
EITHER DIRECTLY TO LAND-BASED STORAGE FACILITIES
OR TO SMALLER VESSELS WHICH CAN DOCK ONSHORE.
BUT SINCE THE 1980s, TANKER PRODUCTION
HAS SLOWED DOWN SOMEWHAT. THE OPEC OIL EMBARGO OF THE '70s
AND THE RESULTING GAS SHORTAGE IN AMERICA LAUNCHED A NEW
EMPHASIS ON ENERGY CONSERVATION. AT THE SAME TIME, THE LARGEST
NEW FIELD SINCE DAD JOINER'S BLACK GIANT WAS DISCOVERED
ON THE NORTH SLOPE OF ALASKA. THE BUILDING OF THE
800-MILE-LONG ALASKA PIPELINE, SOME OF IT BUILT ON STILTS
TO ALLOW CARIBOU TO PASS BELOW IT,
BROUGHT MASSIVE NEW QUANTITIES OF HOMEGROWN BLACK GOLD
INTO THE AMERICAN MARKET. BUT EVEN WITH THE BOUNTY
OF ALASKA'S PRUDHOE BAY, OILMEN ARE STILL LOOKING
TOWARD THE SEA FOR MORE OIL-- NOT FOR THE NEXT
APPROACHING TANKER, BUT FOR A BLACK HARVEST
FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR ITSELF.
IN CALIFORNIA, TEXAS, LOUISIANA, MAJOR OIL STRIKES WERE HIT
IN COASTAL AREAS, AND NEARLY EVERYONE IN THE
INDUSTRY ASSUMED THERE WAS OIL TO BE FOUND OFFSHORE.
BUT UNTIL THE LATE 1940s, NO ONE REALLY BELIEVED THERE WAS
ANY WAY OF GETTING IT. AS EARLY AS THE 1890s,
OILMEN IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HAD DRILLED OFF SHORT PIERS.
BUT THE IDEA OF GOING FARTHER OUT TO SEA WAS SCOFFED AT,
ESPECIALLY BY THE MAJOR OIL COMPANIES.
FOR THEM, THERE WAS STILL PLENTY OF OIL ON LAND,
AND THEY WEREN'T ABOUT TO TAKE A COSTLY GAMBLE
LOOKING FOR IT OFFSHORE. AND THAT WAS JUST FINE WITH
ROBERT KERR AND DEAN McGEE, PARTNERS IN A SMALL OKLAHOMA
INDEPENDENT OIL COMPANY. STARTED IN 1929, KERR-McGEE
NEEDED AN EDGE TO COMPETE WITH THE ALREADY ESTABLISHED
MAJOR OIL COMPANIES, SO THEY LOOKED TO THE SEA.
>> 80% OF ALL OF THE OIL EVER FOUND IN THE WORLD
WAS FOUND BY INDEPENDENTS, BELIEVE IT OR NOT.
AND WE'VE DRILLED 80% OF THE WELLS.
MAJOR COMPANIES, THEY HAVE THEIR WAY OF THINKING,
AND THEY JUST FELT LIKE THEY DIDN'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING
UNLESS IT WAS PROVEN. KERR-McGEE WAS RUN BY A
GEOLOGIST BY THE NAME OF McGEE. DEAN McGEE HAD AN IDEA
THAT OIL WOULD BE FOUND IN THE GULF OF MEXICO.
>> narrator: IN 1945, KERR-McGEE BEGAN UNDERWATER SEISMIC TESTING
ON THE OCEAN FLOOR IN THE GULF. THERE WAS NOT A SINGLE PIECE
OF EQUIPMENT DESIGNED FOR OFFSHORE DRILLING,
SO WHEN THEY PICKED TWO LIKELY SITES, KERR-McGEE
IMPROVISED THE TECHNOLOGY AS THEY WENT ALONG
AND BUILT THE WORLD'S FIRST TWO OFFSHORE OIL PLATFORMS
IN 18 FEET OF WATER TOTALLY OUT OF SIGHT OF LAND.
SURPLUS VESSELS PURCHASED FROM THE NAVY
AND ANCHORED ALONGSIDE SERVED AS CREW QUARTERS.
ONCE THE PLATFORMS WERE BUILT, THE DRILL HEADS WERE SIMPLY
LOWERED INTO THE WATER TILL THEY HIT BOTTOM,
AND DRILLING THROUGH THE OCEAN FLOOR BEGAN.
2 1/2 WEEKS LATER, ON ONE OF THE PLATFORMS,
10 1/2 MILES OFF THE COAST OF LOUISIANA,
A CREWMAN REPORTED OIL COMING BACK WITH THE MUD.
MISUNDERSTANDING, HIS BOSS TOLD HIM TO GET A SKIMMER
AND SKIM IT OFF. "SKIM IT OFF, HELL," HE REPLIED.
"THERE'S BARRELS OF IT." IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY
MORNING, OCTOBER 4, 1947, AND SUDDENLY, THE OIL INDUSTRY
HAD ENTIRE NEW OCEANS TO CONQUER.
DESPITE THE FACT THAT AN OFFSHORE WELL COST FIVE TIMES
MORE TO DRILL THAN ON LAND, WITHIN TWO YEARS, THERE WERE
ALREADY A SCORE OF PLATFORMS IN THE GULF.
AND THE NEW SEA CREATURES WERE SOON APPEARING ON BOTH
THE PACIFIC AND ATLANTIC SHORES AS WELL.
BY THE MID-1960s, PLATFORMS WERE REACHING
AS FAR AS 30 MILES OUT TO SEA AND, BY THE 1970s, 100 MILES.
TODAY'S PLATFORMS ARE TRUE MARVELS OF ENGINEERING.
CREWS ON A SINGLE PLATFORM MAY DRILL 50 OR MORE WELLS
OVER TIME. MORE THAN 100 WORKERS
MAY LIVE ON THE RIGS, WHICH OPERATE
ON ROUND-THE-CLOCK SCHEDULES. THE OIL IS USUALLY PIPED
DIRECTLY TO WAITING TANKERS THAT MOOR NEARBY.
THE WORKERS TYPICALLY STAY FOR TWO-WEEK SHIFTS AT A TIME,
AND THE RIGS ARE DESIGNED TO BE COMPLETELY SELF-CONTAINED
HOUSING UNITS, FEATURING HUGE 24-HOUR KITCHENS,
SELF-SERVICE LAUNDROMATS, AND EVEN SUCH LANDLUBBER
AMENITIES AS MOVIE THEATERS TO BREAK THE MONOTONY.
AND UNLIKE THOSE FIRST KERR-McGEE PLATFORMS,
OILMEN TODAY AREN'T JUST DRILLING IN SHALLOW WATERS.
WHEN SHELL OIL WANTED TO EXPLORE ONE OF ITS OFFSHORE GULF SITES,
IT WAS FACED WITH THE PROBLEM OF HOW TO DRILL IN WATER
ALMOST 1,400 FEET DEEP. THEIR SOLUTION: THE WORLD'S
LARGEST OIL PLATFORM-- 1,615 TALL,
161 FEET TALLER THAN THE WORLD'S HIGHEST SKYSCRAPER,
THE CHICAGO SEARS TOWER. NOT ONLY WAS THIS
AN UNHEARD OF FEAT; THE SITE 150 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF NEW ORLEANS WAS SO INHOSPITABLE
THAT THE PLATFORM WOULD HAVE TO BE DESIGNED TO WITHSTAND
140-MILE-AN-HOUR WINDS AND HURRICANE WAVES OF 70 FEET.
THE PROJECT BEGAN ON DRY LAND IN CORPUS CHRISTI
WHEN WORKERS WELDED TOGETHER 77,000 TONS OF STEEL
TO FORM THE JACKET, THE LEGS AND BASE STRUCTURE
THE PLATFORM ITSELF RESTS ON. THE LEG SUPPORTS ALONE
ARE TEN FEET IN DIAMETER-- LARGE ENOUGH TO DRIVE A CAR
THROUGH. BUT BUILDING IT ON DRY LAND
WAS ONLY THE FIRST STEP. THE NEXT PROBLEM WAS HOW
TO GET IT TO THE OFFSHORE SITE. IT WOULD HAVE TO BE TOWED,
AND THAT MEANT THEY HAD TO BUILD THE LARGEST BARGE
EVER CONSTRUCTED, WITH A DECK AREA EQUIVALENT
TO AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER. AND EVEN THEN, SEVERAL HUNDRED
FEET OF THE BIG RIG STUCK OUT OVER BOTH ENDS OF THE BARGE.
ONCE AT THE SITE, WORKERS SLIPPED THE JACKET,
WHICH WAS EQUIPPED WITH FLOTATION DEVICES,
INTO THE SEA AND SLOWLY LOWERED IT
INTO POSITION. IT COVERED, AT THE BASE,
4 1/2 ACRES OF OCEAN BOTTOM. HUGE UNDERWATER PILE-DRIVING
HAMMERS THEN DROVE 28 PILES INTO THE SEABED
TO ANCHOR THE PLATFORM, SOME REACHING MORE THAN 400 FEET
INTO THE GROUND. ENGINEERS MONITORED THE WHOLE
PROCESS THROUGH TV CAMERAS MOUNTED ON REMOTE-OPERATED
UNDERWATER VEHICLES. THE DECK AREA--
38,000 SQUARE FEET OF IT-- WHICH WAS ALSO BUILT ON LAND,
WAS THEN FITTED ON TOP. THE PLATFORM WAS DESIGNED
TO HOLD AS MANY AS 60 WELLS, REACHING AS DEEP AS 18,000 FEET
BELOW THE OCEAN FLOOR, WITH A YIELD OF 44,000 BARRELS
A DAY. TOTAL COST: $500 MILLION,
AND THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE THE $35 MILLION
SHELL PAID THE GOVERNMENT TO LEASE THE UNDERWATER LAND.
TODAY MORE THAN 1/3 OF THE WORLD'S ENTIRE PRODUCTION OF OIL
COMES FROM THE SEA, A PERCENTAGE THAT WILL CONTINUE
TO RISE AS TECHNOLOGY MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO GO AFTER UNDERSEA
FIELDS IN EVEN DEEPER WATER. >> SHELL IS RUNNING A WELL
IN THE GULF OF MEXICO IN 2,860 FEET OF WATER.
TECHNOLOGY WILL IMPROVE WHERE WE'RE GONNA BE DRILLING
IN 5,000 FEET OF WATER. I WON'T LIVE TO SEE THE DAY,
BUT I BET YOU THEY'LL BE DRILLING IN 10,000 FEET
OF WATER. >> narrator: IN THE 140 YEARS
SINCE EDWIN DRAKE DISCOVERED THE GREATEST SOURCE OF ENERGY
THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN, THE OIL INDUSTRY
HAS CHANGED IMMENSELY. BUT THE MEN WHO MAKE UP
THAT INDUSTRY HAVE HARDLY CHANGED AT ALL.
THE LURE OF OIL HAS ALWAYS DRAWN A SPECIAL BREED OF ADVENTURER--
PART BUSINESSMAN, PART RIVERBOAT GAMBLER,
PART SCIENTIST, PART SNAKE OIL SALESMAN,
BUT WITH AN INDOMITABLE SPIRIT AND A DOGGEDNESS TO PURSUE
THE SIREN SONG OF BLACK GOLD WHEREVER IT IS HEARD.
>> AS LONG AS THERE IS A NEED FOR PETROLEUM
AND AS LONG AS IT IS POSSIBLE TO HUNT FOR IT,
IT WILL NOT ONLY BE SEARCHED FOR, BUT IT WILL BE PRODUCED.
AND IRRESPECTIVE OF WHERE IT IS FOUND,
IT WILL BE BROUGHT TO MARKET IF IT IS NEEDED.
>> narrator: IT ISN'T JUST THE MONEY THAT COMES WITH OIL,
ALTHOUGH THE DEGREE OF RICHES SOME HAVE FOUND
IS ALMOST UNIMAGINABLE. BUT THERE'S MORE TO IT
THAN THAT. IT HAS TO DO WITH SINKING A WELL
INTO THE UNKNOWN, MAKING A FINANCIAL AND EMOTIONAL
GAMBLE THAT COMES UP EMPTY TIME AFTER TIME,
CHASING THE ELUSIVE TILL ONE DAY, YOU FIND IT.
AND THE THRILL OF THAT ONE SINGLE MOMENT
IS WHAT WILL ALWAYS KEEP THE SEARCH FOR OIL ALIVE.
>> I'VE BEEN RIGHT THERE MANY TIMES,
AND I'VE SEEN WHEN WE TAKE A CORE FOR THE FIRST TIME,
AND YOU PULL IT OUT, AND YOU KNOW YOU GOT A WELL,
AND YOU SMELL IT, AND YOU PUSH IT INTO YOUR FACE.
THERE'S NOTHING-- NOTHING WILL BEAT THAT,
NOTHING! IT'S THE MOST EXHILARATING,
FANTASTIC, EMOTIONAL FEELING YOU CAN POSSIBLY GET.
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