WorldWide Drilling Resource

From Dust to Glory Compiled by the Editorial Staff of WorldWide Drilling Resource ® What does it take for a country to grow into the tenth largest gas and oil nation in the world? In the case of Canada, many failures, determination, grit, and a last-ditch effort to strike oil in the 1940s. The famous well which started Canada’s modern oil industry was named Leduc #1. It was drilled by Imperial Oil, which had a 133 dry hole streak prior to the fateful day of February 13,1947. The company had invested over $23 million in unsuccessful drilling operations throughout the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The drilling site in Alberta, on a farm just southwest of Edmonton, was a promising site, but the board members of the company were discouraged by the lack of success and wanted to move on to other operations. After hours of debate, they gave in and authorized the drilling of one more hole at Leduc #1. The winter was bitterly cold, so working conditions were harsh. For those working on-site, it took persevering from drill site to drill site on a seven-day work week, for months straight, as the dry holes continued to mount. Most of the crew expected the Leduc #1 well to turn out dry like all the others, so morale wa s l ow. A f t e r months of dr i l l ing in the blister- i n g c o l d , t h e c r ew was ready to give up and abandon the site, but they continued to drill a few more feet down into what they deemed barren earth. Suddenly, light crude oil erupted from the hole to the surprise of nearly everyone, and one of the most important economic discoveries in Canada’s history was made. Leduc #1 was capped in 1984, after producing over 240 million barrels of oil. Today, the history and artifacts of Leduc #1 are preserved at the Canadian Petroleum Discovery Centre. Themuseum includes an expansive 13 acres outside and 23,000 square feet of indoor exhibits. There are scale models, fossils, working rigs, antique equipment, machinery, murals, archives, classrooms, and much more. The short walking tour allows visitors to check out the Leduc #1 derrick, the cable tool rig, com- mand rig, and ac-tual Leduc #1 well site. It’s a rare look back into the history of the unex- pected success of Leduc #1, which changed the Alberta area forever, and as a result, started the economic climb of a world power in oil production. Leduc #1, courtesy of Ludec #1 Historic Site. 38 MARCH 2017 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® May’s Edi torial Focus will be Gas and Oil drilling. Have an article idea? Submit it to us today. Call Bonnie at 850-547-0102 or e-mail bonnie@ worldwidedrillingresource.com