by Bruce Wells | Feb 17, 2026 | Petroleum Technology
Inventing technologies for protecting oil and natural gas wells and the environment.
Erle P. Halliburton in March 1921 received a U.S. patent for his improved method for cementing oil wells, helping to bring greater production and environmental safety to America’s burgeoning oilfields.
When Halliburton patented his “Method and Means for Cementing Oil Wells,” the 29-year-old inventor changed how oil and natural gas wells were completed. His contribution to oilfield production technology was just beginning. (more…)
by Bruce Wells | Sep 1, 2025 | This Week in Petroleum History
September 1, 1862 – Union taxes Manufactured Gas –
A new federal tax of up to 15 cents per thousand cubic feet was placed on manufactured gas to help fund the Civil War. Often processed from coal and stored in large gasometers, “town gas” had become popular for street and residential lighting. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle accused the local gas company of passing on the new tax, which “shifts from its shoulders its share of the burdens the war imposes and places it directly on their customers.” (more…)
