He is a former energy reporter and editor who lives in Washington, D.C. Bruce Wells is the founder of American Oil and Gas Historical Society, a 501C3 nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the history of oil and gas. – “Making Hole” is a term for drilling coined long before oil or natural gas were anything more than flammable curiosities. In 2009, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers designated the Hughes two-cone drill bit as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. The tungsten carbide tooth came into use in the early 1950s. Frank and George Christensen developed the earliest diamond bit in 1941. Hired by Seneca Oil Company to drill for oil.
Hughes’ engineers invented the tri-cone bit in 1933. Titusvilles oil well was drilled on August 27, 1859, after much struggle and toil by innovator Edwin L. assumed control of Hughes Tool Company following his father’s death in 1924. The company licensed its new technology, which penetrated hard rock at much greater speeds than previous bits. 10, 1909, Hughes and business associate Walter Sharp established the Sharp-Hughes Tool Company to manufacture and market the two-cone roller bit. He recalls that he sold the rights for $150 – and spent $50 of his sale proceeds at the bar during the balance of the evening.Īfter receiving his U.S. The University of Texas Center for American History collection includes a 1951 recording of Humason’s recollections of that chance meeting. By the end of the evening, Humason had sold the rights to a roller bit consisting of two interlocking cones. flooding and cave-ins, and revolutionized the oil industry. 10, note that Hughes earlier had a chance meeting with inventor Granville A. Edwin Laurentine Drake was the first man to successfully obtain oi l from the ground by drilling. of Houston introduced the two-cone roller bit.īiographers of Hughes, who received his U.S. Tourists view “The Valley that Changed the World,” a 2009 documentary produced for 150th anniversary of his discovery.įishtail bits became obsolete in 1909 when Howard Hughes Sr. Today, the Drake Well Museum in Titusville includes a replica of Drake’s wooden cable-tool derrick. His first customer, Samuel Kier, paid $20 for each barrel delivered to a new refinery for making kerosene.
But after five months of financial setbacks and drilling problems, many began calling the attempt “Drake’s Folly.” To improve his reputation, Connecticut investors addressed their letters to him “Colonel” Edwin Drake.Īfter the percussion drill bit dropped into a crevice on that fateful summer day in 1859, Drake’s driller, “Uncle Billy” Smith noticed oil floating at the top of the pipe.ĭrake pumped oil from what became known as the Venango sand and shipped it down the Alleghany River to Pittsburgh. Little did Drake know that his idea of using an iron pipe would lead to one of the greatest inventions in mankind, and the birth of a new industry.
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