Petroleum industry in Ohio

In late 1859, blacksmith William Jeffrey drilled the first well in Ohio specifically intended to produce petroleum.

This well is located in Mecca Township, Trumbull County, northeast of Warren.

From Toledo to Lima and into Indiana, the Bowling Green Fault fractured the Trenton Formation limestone, in which hydrocarbons were trapped by overlying rock.

Due to inefficient early drilling techniques, the oil fields rapidly lost pressure.

In 1836, gas was encountered when drilling a ten-foot water well in the Findlay field.

Up until then, it was considered a “nuisance.” During this period, many towns in Ohio experienced rapid boom-to-bust cycles.

[1] These wells have produced more than 1 billion barrels of oil and 9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

[13] Large quantities of technically recoverable oil and gas remain in the Trenton and other formations in northwest Ohio and reservoir repressuring and other new technologies may re-invigorate exploration.