The Mid-continent oil field is a broad area containing hundreds of oil fields in the U.S. states of Arkansas , Kansas , Louisiana , New Mexico , Oklahoma and Texas . The area, which consists of various geological strata and diverse trap types, was discovered and exploited during the first half of the 20th century. Most of the crude oil found in the onshore Mid-continent oil field is considered to be of the mixed base or intermediate type (a mix of paraffin base and asphalt base crude oil types).
9-634: The first commercially successful oil well drilled in the area was the Norman No. 1 near Neodesha, Kansas , on November 28, 1892. The successes that followed of the Nellie Johnstone No. 1 at Bartlesville, Oklahoma in 1897, Spindletop at Beaumont, Texas in 1901, and Oklahoma's Ida Glenn No. 1 at the Glenn Pool Oil Reserve in 1905, demonstrated the existence of a large oil field in the central and southwestern United States. It became known as
18-537: A large percentage of the exploration efforts and profitability of the petroleum industry in the Mid-continent. 33°N 95°W / 33°N 95°W / 33; -95 Norman No. 1 Oil Well Norman No. 1 Oil Well Site is the site of an abandoned oil well , located at the northeast corner of Mill and First Streets in Neodesha, Kansas , USA. The well, which was drilled on November 28, 1892,
27-507: Is not on the south side of Main Street, where a replica oil derrick stands.) The site is in a small public park, about 1 acre (0.40 ha) in size, set on the western bank of the Verdigris River . The park has open grassy areas and a small parking area, and the original site of the oil well is marked by a plaque. The park originally housed a small visitors center, playground, restrooms, and
36-640: The Mid-continent oil field. Continued drilling found many other oil fields and pools within the Mid-continent, both large and small. Historically the area around Glenpool, Oklahoma , has produced more oil than any other area in the United States, and until the discovery of oil in the Middle East, it was the largest known oil reserve in the world. The Texas Railroad Commission estimates that the Texas reserves alone were 190 billion barrels (3.0 × 10 m) of oil including
45-415: The lawlessness that accompanied them. The states eventually succeeded in regulating the industry and passing laws for the equitable distribution of oil royalties. Oil operators, in addition to continued exploration, use a variety of techniques to increase production , including deep wells, injection wells, etc. Natural gas, which in the early days was vented to the atmosphere or burned off, now accounts for
54-494: The little more than 60 billion (10 km) already produced. Laws in the early days gave the oil flowing from the well-head to the owners of the well, prompting nearby property owners and lease holders to drill as many wells as possible to ensure they received the profits for the oil under their land. This led to rapid depletion of the resources and the immediate fall of oil prices. Also, the resulting influx of thousands of oil field workers led to wild growth of nearby boom towns and
63-414: The replica derrick, but all of these were removed due to repeated flooding. The Neodesha area was known to Native Americans for glowing "gas springs" prior to its settlement by westward-migrating Americans. Reports of this feature eventually brought William Mills, an oil explorer to the town. One of the sites he selected for drilling was on the land of T.J. Norman, a local blacksmith. On November 28, 1892,
72-506: The well struck oil at a depth of 832 feet (254 m). This kicked off a local boom, which was eventually expanded to a much larger geographic area by other finds. Norman No. 1 operated until 1919, when part of the well casing failed, and its infrastructure was dismantled. The city built a replica of the derrick and other infrastructure on the site in 1961, turning it into a small park and tourist attraction. The derrick and museum were moved to Main Street in 1989, due to repeated flooding of
81-472: Was the first successful well in what is now known as the Mid-Continent oil field , kicking off a major oil boom in states from Kansas to Texas and Louisiana . The well site, now a small municipal park, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977. The Norman No. 1 Oil Well Site is located in the small southeastern Kansas town of Neodesha, at the northeast corner of 1st and East Mill Streets. (It
#455544