Calgary Petroleum Club

The Calgary Petroleum Club was incorporated on June 28, 1949. The formation of the Calgary Petroleum Club was seen as the oil industry beginning to mature. Club founders consisted of venturesome Canadian and American oilmen who believed that there was a requirement for a private facility to serve as a social meeting ground. A room in the Palliser Hotel became the birthplace of the Calgary Petroleum Club.

The objective of the club is to be a prestigious industry meeting place where personal contacts valuable to business and professional development are formed. Traditionally, oil and gas executives have dominated membership and this trend continues today. Other industries are also represented such as bankers, accountants, lawyers, etc. 

With the rapid growth of the oil industry, club membership began to increase. On September 1, 1950, the merger of the Renfrew Club and the Calgary Petroleum Club was approved and the combined membership moved onto the second floor of the Motor Car Supply Building on Sixth Avenue West.

With the further acceleration of industry activity and the discovery of Pincher Creek, Redwater and many other oil and gas fields, the Club prospered with a membership of 954 and an $850.00 net operating profit in 1952.

By August 1958 the club matured. It was on this date that the official opening of their present facility took place and Calgary was also proclaimed the Oil Industry Capital of Canada. In May 1989 the membership voted to admit women as full members.

In short, the history of the club was made possible by the few pioneers and generations of industry leaders who had followed them.