[1] The Oil Drum was published by the Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future, a Colorado non-profit corporation.

The Oil Drum was rated one of the top five sustainability blogs of 2007 by Nielsen Netratings,[3] and was read by a diverse collection of public figures, including Roscoe Bartlett,[4] Paul Krugman,[5] James Howard Kunstler,[6] Richard Rainwater,[7] and Radiohead.

[8] In 2008, the site received the M. King Hubbert Award for Excellence in Energy Education from the U.S. chapter of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO).

[10] The site first rose to prominence following its coverage of the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on oil and gas production.

Reasons cited for this change include server costs and a dwindling number of contributors of high-quality content.