Petroleum

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Oil and gas discoveries transformed Alberta's economy from agriculture to petroleum-based. The development of the petroleum industry has led to Alberta's strong economy and ever-growing population.

The earliest petroleum discovery in Alberta dates back to 1883. Railway workers drilling for water in Medicine Hat struck natural gas instead. After years of not knowing what to do with the foul-smelling, highly explosive gas, in 1904 Medicine Hat became the first city in Alberta to have natural gas service. By 1908, the Calgary Brewing and Malting Company was the first customer to use natural gas in Calgary.

In 1914, the Calgary Petroleum Products Company, an enterprise formed by W.S. Herron, William Elder and A.W. Dingman, discovered oil and wet gas in Turner Valley, Alberta. The discovery led to the rapid creation of other oil companies in the area and Turner Valley became the model for the industry as we know it today. 

The Second World War brought a much-needed boom to the petroleum industry in Alberta after the slow Depression years. Oil shortages across Canada, and the world, were common.

Imperial Oil drilled 133 dry holes in 1946 throughout Alberta and Saskatchewan. But they struck oil at Leduc, and by 13 February 1947, Leduc #1 started producing 155 cubic meters of oil a day. On 10 May 1947, Leduc #2 hit the much bigger Devonian Reef that had at least 300 million barrels, and Imperial Oil started to build the town of Devon for its employees.

It was 6 March 1948 when Atlantic Leduc #3 blew out, and remained out of control. It took until 9 September 1948 before it was brought under control with 160,000 cubic meters of river water pumped down the well. 180,000 cubic meters of oil were released during the blowout, with most of it recovered from ditches and pools.

	The Heritage Community Foundation is proud to present this episode of the CKUA Radio Network's Heritage Trails radio series, hosted by Cheryl Croucher. The Athabasca oil sands cover hundreds of square kilometres in northern Alberta. As historian Michael Payne explains, the oily substance was known to the Aboriginal Peoples of the region for many centuries. [Listen]

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