1859:
Edwin Drake drills the first producing oil well, in Titusville, PA.
1870:
John D. Rockefeller enters the oil refining business; forms Standard Oil (Cleveland, OH) to produce kerosene, for lighting purposes
1873:
The Nobel family (minus Alfred, the dynamite inventor, who established the famous Nobel Prizes) drills for oil in the Baku area, present Azerbaijan
1882:
Thomas Alva Adison invents the electric light bulb, endangering future petroleum markets
1885:
The Rotschilds develop petroleum in Russia
Royal Dutch develops petroleum in Sumatra (Indonesia)
1892:
Marcus Samuel forms Shell, to transport petroleum through Suez Canal
1896:
Invention of the automobile (Daimler and Benz, Germany) resurrects the market for petroleum
1901:
Petroleum discovered in Persia (Iran)
1907:
Merger of Shell and Royal Dutch
1908:
Petroleum boom in Persia
1910:
Petroleum boom in Mexico
1911:
Dissolution of Rockefeller-owned Standard Oil cartel to form smaller oil companies, which eventually became Exxon, Mobil, Amoco, Sohio, Chevron, etc.
1922:
Petroleum boom in Venezeula
1927:
Petroleum boom in Iraq
1933:
Standard Oil of California (Chevron) gets heavily involved in drilling for oil in Saudi Arabia
1938:
Petroleum boom in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait
1956:
Petroleum boom in Algeria and Nigeria
1959:
Petroleum boom in Libya
1960:
Formation of OPEC
1968:
Petroleum discovered in Alaska (Prudhoe Bay) but not exploited until 1977
1969:
Petroleum discovered in the Northsea but not exploited until 1975
1973:
First "Energy Crisis": Arab oil embargo against the US in retaliation for US support of Israel in the Yom Kippum War
1979:
Second "Energy Crisis": Iranian Revolution causes major disruptions in oil supply from the Persian Gulf
1980:
OPEC troubles begin: Iran/Iraq War
1982:
OPEC establishes production quotas (and has occasional difficulties in having the member countries abide by them)
1990:
Third (mini) "Energy Crisis": Iraq invades Kuwait, causing another major disruption in oil supplies from the Persian Gulf
1998:
The Baku region (and the Caspian Sea in general) again becomes the focus of interest of oil companies; may turn out to be the "Persian Gulf of the 21st century," but the key issue is how to transport all this oil to the open seas and the world markets
1999:
Petroleum is again as inexpensive as bottled water, and as cheap as it was before the energy crises of the 1970s. How long will such a situation last this time around?