How oil derricks worked in the 1800-1900's?
I was watching a movie last night (There will be blood) and there was a part where there were drilling for oil, and some natural gas came out of the ground, then what looked to be water, and then it was flames in with the oil. Then the characters took some dynamite to stop the fire. I was wondering if anyone knows if that is the way the oil is supposed to come out, or an explanation of how it is really supposed to happen. The characters acted like it was no big deal, and they also acted like it was not caught on fire by a person on purpose.
June 20th, 2010 at 3:20 am
In the old days they chipped away at the rocks with a cable tool until they hit the paydirt layer. Often the oil has gas on top that erupts first and can ignite. Oil field fires very common. http://www.petroleumhistory.org