- Lakeview Gusher
The Lakeview Gusher Number One is regarded as the largest recorded U.S. oil well gusher. Located about a half-mile east of the Taft-Maricopa Highway (State Route 33), in the
Midway-Sunset Oil Field inKern County, California , the site is marked by aCaltrans guide sign and a bronze plaque. It is also identified as State Historic Landmark #485.Background
Drilling at Lakeview Number One well was started by the Lakeview Oil Company on
January 1 ,1909 . As the drilling continued, and only natural gas was found, the Lakeview company partnered withUnion Oil Company which wanted to build storage tanks on Lakeview property. [Bailey, Richard C., "Kern County Place Names", (Bakersfield, California: Merchant's Printing and Lithography Co., 1967).]While modern well drilling techniques have advanced safety features that reduce the chances of a gusher, in extreme conditions, early Twentieth-Century oil well drilling technology could not contain the high pressures encountered. The gusher made its debut
March 14 ,1910 as the drill bit found the 2,440-foot level. [Rintoul, William, "Spudding In: Recollections of Pioneer Days in the California Oil Fields", pp. 106-113, (California Historical Society).]The well casing is a steel pipe liner that contains oil as it is pumped from the depths. During drilling, the casing also guides the drill bit and drive shaft in a roughly-straight line. Pressure blew at least part of the well casing out, along with an estimated 9 million barrels (378 million
gallon s/1.4 billionliter s) of oil, before the gusher was brought under control 18 months later, (about September 1911). [Rintoul, William, "Drilling Through Time", pp. 13-15, (Sacramento, California: California Department of Conservation, Division of Oil and Gas, 1990). ]Initial flow from the gusher was 18,800 barrels per 24-hour period. The peak flow during the gusher was estimated to be 90,000 barrels per 24 hour period. The large flow created a creek of crude oil running downhill from the well site. Crews rushed to contain the river of crude oil with a system of improvised sand bag dams and dikes. Remarkably, the gusher never caught fire during its gassy, 18-month stint. [Latta, F. F., "Black Gold in the San Joaquin", chapter 33, (Caldwell)]
External links
* [http://www.sjgs.com/lakeview.html San Joaquin Geological Society article on the gusher.]
* [http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/GeoImages/LanternSlides/GreatValley/NC-G-124.html U.C. Berkeley archival photograph of the gusher on "day 34."]
* [http://ludb.clui.org/ex/i/CA3068/ The gusher site looks like this today] , (Center for Land Use Interpretation).References
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