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4 |
1857 -
Discovery of oil in Ontario
The first commercial oil well in North America
was drilled in Oil Springs, Ontario in 1858.
Carriage maker James Williams set out during a
drought to dig a water well but struck free oil
instead. The timing of this discovery could not
have been better. Its commercial potential was
enormous, and Williams realized it. As news of
his discovery spread, prospectors from both
Canada and the United States flooded into Oil
Springs and an oil boom was under way.
The boom in oil production in the Great Lakes
region gave the oil industry its enduring
standard of measure—the barrel, 42 gallons—just
the right quantity for easy, horse-drawn
transport.
By
1861, approximately 400 wells were producing oil
in the area. Oil Springs benefited from this
new-found wealth. People became rich from oil,
and this provided Oil Springs with the first
paved street in Canada. The village’s main
street was also lit at night by oil lamps. In
the early 1860s, so much oil was being produced
that 20 refineries built in the area could not
handle the volume. Nearby a new line of the
Great Western Railway was completed, providing a
means to transport this commodity. Crude oil was
being shipped to other cities in Canada and the
United States, and even as far away as Great
Britain. |
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4 |
1947 - Leduc oil discovery
In
February, 1947, oil was struck in Leduc AB which
would soon become known as the largest discovery
in Canada in 33 years. A year prior to the
discovery, Imperial Oil Limited had spent $23
million on oil exploration in Western Canada and
had drilled 133 consecutive dry holes producing
few tangible results. By November 1946 Imperial
was resigned to drilling six last chance wells
of which one was named Leduc #1, a wildcat well
located 15km west of Edmonton and over 80km away
from any previous drillings. Throughout the
winter drilling continued and on February 3rd,
1947, oil was finally struck and gushed from
Leduc #1. The discovery would be the seminal
event in the Canadian oil industry, triggering
an oil boom whose effects are still widely
visible today. By the end of 1947, 147 more
wells were drilled in the Leduc–Woodbend
oilfield resulting in a 300–million-barrel
discovery. The original well, Leduc #1, was
capped in 1974, after producing 300,000 barrels
of oil and 9 million cubic metres of natural
gas. Its effects on Alberta remain strong to
this day. |
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4 |
1954 -
PLCAC founded in Edmonton |
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4 |
1968 -
PLCAC incorporated |
|
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4Initial
purpose
Represent contractors in labour relations matters and
to
establish pipeline construction
skills
training for workers |
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4 |
Today |
| |
4Scope
broadened
Occupational health and safety,
legislative review,
pipeline
standards and codes
and
a host of other
industry related activities |
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