by Bruce Wells | Feb 2, 2026 | This Week in Petroleum History
February 2, 1923 – First Anti-Knock Gas goes on Sale –
The world’s first anti-knock gasoline containing a tetra-ethyl lead compound went on sale at the Refiners Oil Company service station in Dayton, Ohio. Discovered two years earlier by General Motors scientists, “Ethyl” vastly improved engine performance. The company initially provided service stations with bolt-on adapters called “Ethylizers” to meter the proper proportion of the new additive. (more…)
by Bruce Wells | Dec 8, 2025 | This Week in Petroleum History
December 8, 1931 – Advanced Blowout Preventer patented –
Improving upon the success of the Cameron Iron Works mechanically operated ram-type blowout preventer, James Abercrombie patented a “Fluid Pressure Operated Blow Out Preventer” designed to operate “instantaneously to prevent a blowout when an emergency arises.”
James Abercrombie’s innovative idea used rams – hydrostatic pistons – to close on the drill stem. His improved blowout preventer set a new standard for safe drilling.
Abercrombie and partner Harry Cameron in 1926 had patented the first practical ram-type blowout preventer (BOP), designed in Cameron’s Humble, Texas, machine shop. Abercrombie would receive 30 U.S. patents and become one of Houston’s most generous philanthropists. Cameron International was acquired by Schlumberger in 2016. (more…)
