John Edward Patrick Gallagher OC (16 July 1916 – 16 December 1998) was a Canadian oilman who from 1950 to 1983 was the head of Dome Petroleum.

When the Second World War began in September of that year, Shell ceased its Egyptian operations and moved to the Dutch East Indies.

Instead of transferring to the new location, Gallagher left Shell and began to work for the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, who remained in the region.

In the early 1940s Standard transferred Gallagher to South America, where he spent time in Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama.

His South American stay led to many interesting experiences, including being granted a meeting with president Jorge Ubico to ask permission to search for oil in the north of the country.

Gallagher worked primarily on his own and had an office in the Alberta Block at 805 1st Street South West with his secretary Ethel Cairns.

Having become fascinated with the Canadian North during the summer of 1936, Gallagher remained interested in the potential for northern oil and gas exploration.

In 1959 Gallagher first filed for land position in the north, and in September 1961 Dome became the first company to drill in the Canadian Arctic.

In 1974 Gallagher was contacted by then Minister of Northern Affairs, Jean Chrétien, to ask if Dome would be interested in exploration in the Beaufort Sea.

This revelation threw the Canadian banking system into a state of chaos for the next year before a rescue package for Dome was developed in the fall of 1982.