This short, brief and hopefully interesting introduction to the oil and drilling industry will introduce you to both the oil industry and the four stages of a borehole. The history of oil stems back to around 6000 bc where it was used for water proofing boats. Records show the Egyptians used it for make-up, in the embalming process, and as a lubricate for moving stones. The roman's are known to have used oil as a weapon by oil-soaked pigs and using them as blazing torches and would often poured oil on the sea and using it as a weapon. The Greeks were know to used oil in warfare and the Chinese used copper flasks of flaming oil as a projectile in battles. In the time of Queen Victoria of England Sea going vassal were caulked with bitumen imported from Trinidad The word "Petroleum" means rock oil and is derived from the Greek petra - rock and the Latin oleum - oil. Petroleum is thought to have developed from organic matter deposited with rock particles during the formation of sedimentary rock millions of years ago. This organic debris builds and is eventually broken down into subject matters rich in carbon and hydrogen. Weight and pressure compact the sediment into hard shale's which entrap these hydrocarbon particles. Over time and under certain conditions, petroleum is produced.  The first nation to form an oil industry was France (1765 - 1849), however it was unsuccessful. Whale oil and the like were use as a lighting fuel. In 1854, kerosene was introduced as an alternative and Dr. Abraham Gesner, of Nova Scotia, developed procedures to refine this coal oil. In mid 19th century as more people moved into North America, and the development of the railways created a market for quality lubricants and a more advance lighting system. it as the time of such people as James Miller Williams In 1857, "he dug an oil well in the Sarnia area of Canada, refined, product and sold the oil as lamp oil. Col. Edwin Drake, a railway conductor, drilled the first well in Titusville, Pennsylvania.(1859) that pioneer the industry, the start of the drilling and oil industry as we know it today. Although the Col use the cable-tool or percussion tools. "tools that are raised and drop until the producing formations were encounter. It was the first well drilled in the America's surprisingly enough the winch use to drill the well has changed very little since them early days. The Spindletop Field in Texas.(1901) introduced us to what is now the current rotary drilling method  By 1879, John Davison Rockefeller and the Standard Oil Company, controlled 90% of the refining capacity in the United States. In 1880, Imperial Oil was formed in Ontario. but due to hard times in getting financial backing from the Canadian or British it sold majority interest to Standard Oil (the Rockefeller empire) that was owned by John Davison Rockefeller  Other large corporations and wealthy families became interested in petroleum during this period: The banking empire of the Rothschild family and Alfred Nobel (of dynamite and Nobel Prize fame) both explored in the Ukraine. In the period from 1900 - 1945, 127 major oil discoveries were made in Texas, California, Wyoming, Oklahoma and Louisiana and 100,000,000 barrels or 15,893,000 cubic meters of oil were recovered. Gulf Oil and Texaco were formed as a result of the Spindletop discovery in Texas in 1901. The Standard Oil Company monopoly was broken by the Taft Anti-trust Action (1911); Standard Oil of California (Chevron), Standard Oil of Louisiana (Mobil), Standard Oil of New Jersey (Exxon) and Standard Oil of Indiana (Amoco) were then formed as separate corporate entities. In addition, Rockefeller divested himself of a bus company - later to become Greyhound! In 1908, the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company had success in the Middle East and British Petroleum was born The Samuelson Trading Company in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) began trading in oil at the end of the 19th century, under its family logo - a pecten sea shell. At the beginning of the 20th century, this company merged with the Royal Dutch Trading Company to form the Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company. The company embarked on an aggressive expansion into Venezuela and Mexico.   From 1945 - 1970, worldwide exploration increased and the petroleum industry diversified. Offshore development and large ocean crude oil tankers were developed and extensive pipelines were built for oil and gas transportation.