Hello everyone, the star enterprise here ;). A blog dedicated for clean energy, space technologies and global warming. This is my first post and I'm are really excited to be on steemit. I'm a chemical engineer by profession.

I started my carrier in oil industry in one of the largest refining complexes in the world (RPL, Jamnagar). As we all know oil is not the future of energy & will be eventually replaced by renewable clean energy sources. I read a lot about clean energy technologies and their impact on humanity.

This century is all about transition to clean energy. Just imagine how the world would look like if we had clean, abundant & unlimited supply of energy.  

The world is slowly moving towards this future.

Before we begin with the future. Let’s look into the history first.

The beginning of Oil Era:  

Let’s start from the beginning. Throughout mankind’s history, “energy” enabled us to do more. People use to burn woods for centuries for cooking & warmth. It was also used as prime material for building homes. 

In short wood was the “Global Fuel”. 

The transformation to Industrial economy started at the beginning of 18th century. First modern steam engine was a game changer for all. 

Initially powered by wood or coal, but coal quickly replaced the wood & the massive industrial growth started. Coal’s popularity was very straight forward.

• Produces 4 time the energy for the amount of wood. 
• Cheaper to Produce
• Easy distribution 
• Coal powered machines enabled breakthroughs in productivity at less physical efforts. 

So pretty obvious why it became so popular - Easy of use at lower cost.   

(Blockchain is doing the same thing to finance industry). 

The story continued till  the technology changed the game again & led to faster transition to another amazing energy source oil.  

Actually, the Chinese in 600 B.C discovered the first oil & used bamboo pipelines to transport.  

However, Colonel Drake’s heralded discovery of oil in Pennsylvania in 1859 & the Spindletop discovery in Texas in 1901 set the stage for the new oil economy. 

Oil had the adaptability & flexibility to replace coal. Additionally, the kerosene that was refined originally from crude provided a reliable & relatively inexpensive alternative to “coal-oils” & whale oil for fueling lamps. Most of the other products were discarded.    

With the technological breakthroughs, oil emerged as the preferred source. The key drivers for transformation were - electric light bulb & the automobile. 

                

Thanks to the Incredible Henry Ford and the Amazing Thomas Alva Edison.

                               

Electricity demand & Automobile ownership grew exponentially & so the demand for oil. 

By 1919, gasoline sales exceeded those of kerosene. In World War I Oil-powered ships, trucks & tanks, & military airplanes proved the role of oil as not only an energy source, but also an important military asset. 

                            

In 1920s, gas began to be used as fuel for industrial, residential heating & power. As its value was realized, natural gas became 2nd popular product after oil. 

                                                  

 The Era of Super-Majors: Standard Oil, Royal Dutch Shell, & British Petroleum:  

 John D. Rockefeller, who began his career in refining, became the industry’s first “baron” in 1865, by forming “Standard Oil Company”.  By 1879, Standard Oil controlled two major things,  90 % of America’s refining capacity & also its pipelines & gathering systems. 

                                                   

By the end of the 19th century, Stanard Oil’s dominance had grown to other categories that include exploration, production, & marketing. Today ExxonMobil is the successor company to Standard Oil. While Rockefeller was building his U.S. empire, the Nobel & Rothschild families were competing aggressively for control of production & refining of Russia’s oil riches. 

                                                     

                 

In an effort to establish a global transportation network to sell their kerosene, the Rothschilds commissioned the first oil tankers from a trader, Marcus Samuel. The first of these tankers was named the Murex, after a type of seashell, & became the flagship of Shell Transport & Trading, which Samuel formed in 1897. 

                                 

Royal Dutch Petroleum an another oil behemoth who got its start in the Dutch East Indies in the late 1800s, & by 1892 had integrated production, pipe-lining, & refining operations.

 In 1907 a golden year, Royal Dutch and Shell Transport & Trading agreed to form the Royal Dutch Shell Group. 

Also in 1907, Anglo-Persian Oil Company started due to the discovery of oil in Iran by a British former gold miner & a Middle Eastern shah. 

                        

The British government purchased 51% ownership of the company in 1914 to make sure sufficient oil for the Royal Navy in the years leading up to World War I. The company later became British Petroleum in 1954 & is now BP. 

Today, these three incredible companies—Exxon Mobil, Shell, & BP—are considered the original “super majors.” In the 1901 in United States, the discovery of the Spindle top field in Texas led to companies such as Gulf Oil, Texaco, & others. The dominance of the US during this era was evident by the fact that regardless of where oil was produced in the world, its price was fixed at the Gulf of Mexico. 

              

Beginning with World War I, oil became a critical energy source and geographical prize. In the 1930s, Gulf Oil, BP, Texaco, & Chevron were involved in operations that made major discoveries in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. 

Based on those discoveries, a cartel of 7 companies was formed which controlled the world’s oil & gas business for much of the 20th century known as the 7 Sisters, they included: BP, Mobil, Texaco, Gulf, & Chevron Exxon (originally Standard Oil), Royal Dutch/Shell. These are companies who actually shaped the modern oil economy. 

I hope people have got some amazing insights through this article. I tried keeping it as simple as possible. 

Let me know if you liked it in the comment section. 

I'm super excited about the next article stay tuned to dive into the future.

Sources: 

http://www.history.com/topics/oil-industry

American oil & gas historical Society: https://aoghs.org/

A little help from managers at reliance industries.