PETROLEUM
The discovery
at Oil Springs touched off an oil boom which brought hundreds of speculators and
workers to the area. Advances in drilling continued into 1862 when local driller Shaw
reached a depth of 62 metres using the spring-pole drilling method. On January 16,
1862, after an explosion of natural gas Canada's first oil gusher came into production,
shooting into the air at a recorded rate of 3,000 barrels per day. By the end of the 19th
century the Russian Empire, particularly the Branobel company in Azerbaijan, had taken
the lead in production.
Access to oil was and still is a major factor in several military conflicts of the twentieth
century, including World War II, during which oil facilities were a major strategic asset
and were extensively bombed. Operation Barbarossa included the goal to capture the
Baku oilfields, as it would provide much needed oil-supplies for the German military
which was suffering from blockades. Oil exploration in North America during the early
annaabi.ee 
