Early Oil and Gas Production in California

[@gaylewashburn1137]

I was the first woman to work in the oilfield. Hired in 1972. I remember seeing the oil "caves" up by Sulfur Mountain. I met Carl Breig. He lived up Piru/Temescal Canyon forever and took care of the field there.

[@theresataylor9913]

I know there is lots of “quarrying” in Temescal Canyon. I didn’t know about oil. Is it still active?

[@gaylewashburn1137]

@@theresataylor9913 I doubt that there is any oil production activity. I was up there in the mid 80s when Carl Breig lived there and operated the few producing wells. He worked for Getty, then after the Texaco merger, Texaco closed it down.

[@SiikPros]

As a Californian raised in the public school system, it's sad they didn't teach us about this.

[@yashwagadre4102]

bro there many more such things that they dont teach to you guy trust me

[@scott7377]

Love documentary's like this .What a relief to get away from all the lies on mainstream TV.

[@user-nb6sv5yg2y]

lol

[@RichardAddison]

Thank you for going to all this trouble to produce this production. It is very illuminating for someone with no similar experience. Appreciated.

[@thelovertunisia]

The Californian landscape looks astonishingly similar to the Mediterranean. Greetings from Tunisia.

[@coolchrisj]

Except it’s full of liberal idiots !!!!

[@gregorykaplan1226]

@@coolchrisj agreed! Its a shame at the potential California wastes by being stupid to no end.

[@coolchrisj]

@@gregorykaplan1226 its slowly destroying itself in one way or another

[@gregorykaplan1226]

@@coolchrisj it just sucks that they have to make the rest of our country look bad sometimes

[@tommas2674]

these voters and the gov very bad. so good paying jobs with benefits, which add to the tax money for infrastructure to pay for illegals and other traitors of their homelands and can increase GDP and more people with more purchasing power to support low paying no benefits retaitls and service companies increase their bottom line. what are their names Xi, Mohammad, Fernandez, Sheik Opec, newsome, pelosi, omar, aoc destroyer on the INSIDE.

[@grrosales8554]

Such a great way to show people from outside California the rich history we have in oil exploration

[@commodoresixfour7478]

It's too bad liberals in the state don't feel the same way!

[@tracedog27]

Lemme tell you story 'bout a man name Jed... Jokes aside, this was a great video. Back in the 1970's I used to hike way way back into the canyons up Sespe Creek north of Fillmore. I remember that there were (and probably still are?) the scattered remains of old oil industry activity like rusted pipes, tools, steel cables, tattered shacks and sheds, and the like located a seemingly impossibly distance up the canyon. There may have been old oil wells hidden in the thick chaparral but I sensed that most of paraphernalia i saw was most likely the remains of exploration and drilling sites that for one reason or another didn't pan out. There was evidence that a dirt road had wound back through there at one time but it was for all purposes long obliterated by the many Sespe floods and rockslides that engulf the canyon. I remember there was the buried, overgrown rusted hulk of the remains of an early 20th century automobile - something from the late 1910's it looked like - sticking out of the dirt. I always used it as a landmark on my hikes to tell me where I was, as there was only very scattered sections of trail to follow. The canyon at that point is clogged with boulders the size of cars and small houses. It was very difficult to fathom how a road could have been built back there, let alone all that equipment transported to such a remote location, but there it was. It was all pretty cool to wander through and imagine the workman and organization it must have taken to go into such a remote area. This wonderful video reminded me of that time and place in my life. Thank you.

[@jako77777]

Very interesting, where I am from, you can drive 2h north and begin to see small/medium sized pump jacks littered throughout and betwixt the corn and wheat fields. Coming from the city environment it is always a joy to see them and how they work, not sure how much they produce but nonetheless are a fascinating piece of machinery and something that will always amaze me. Thank you for your story.

[@johnskilling7019]

I enjoyed reading this and appreciate the time you took to write it. You got me wanting to check out Sepse creek now.

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

Sounds like a place I visited as a kid in Arizona. It's one of those roads, the trail at best now that someone going off of Google Earth would look you in the eyes and say you are full of it. I have not been in the immediate area in many years, however, based off of some things my dad's friend says, it doesn't sound like much has changed.

[@Erik-gg2vb]

I use to ride dirt bikes to Sespe Hot Springs from Gorman. in the late 70's to early 80's. Now it is Wilderness. No oil wells I recall coming from that direction.

[@jako77777]

@@Erik-gg2vb Nature must consume what man does not. Still sounds interesting, thank you for the modern perspective.

[@aalvarezjr0827]

I been working in California oil fields for the pass 27 years .

[@ronfreeze8957]

back in the late 1950s and early 1960s Dad would give my brother and I rags so we could grab a hold of the Jack lines near Taft California for fun ... Dad was born in Taft ...

[@rickwallace1243]

That esentric pump is some smart engineering

[@scottmillner]

I think you meant eccentric but yes its very interesting to see how you can operate several pumps local to one power unit

[@notanymore9471]

Very cool having grown up in Ventura Ca I remember hiking as a kid and coming upon oil seeping out of the ground. Didn’t realize it all started around here.

[@Boz_-st4jt]

Grewup in N. Long Beach in the shadow of Signal Hill in the 50's and 60's. Signal Hill was covered with those old wooden derricks. They were also along the ocast from Long Beach to Huntington Beach. Not mention the offshore rigs inside the breakwater off the coast of Long Beach.

[@marksommers6764]

Ditto !

[@dlewis8405]

Those old wooden derricks make me think of "There Will Be Blood". Great film.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

Or the film, "Boomtown."

[@752brickie]

I grew up in Pennsylvania. We were taught some of it but my grandfather was an oil and gas well drilling contractor. I was raised on the derrick floor. We had our own gas production many years ago.

[@billybonewhacker]

I loved that pump rig. great video

[@jservice6594]

No mention of the first producing oil well in California. That was up outside of Petrolia CA in 1865. Humboldt County.

[@jessebarlow1277]

nice banjo soundtrack, nice video

[@salstonightsbiggestloser]

Last I looked it up. California is approx 3.5% of the national production today. Some may call it a green state. But still a slick deal. It's a trip seeing Jack's running in LA area.

[@Mike-01234]

I wish had video recorded folks I knew in the 1980's still alive had been born in 1890's. I even had a video recorder I recorded stupid stuff like dirt bikes and surfing.

[@r_ilshatr9055]

thank u for very intrestig video!

[@guineapigzed]

Great presentation!

[@mrmatt2525able]

Awesome video! I wonder if there is a museum or open tours of that place now a days

[@douglasscott5623]

11:00 Had a family friend who worked for Union Oil. They made most of their own tools.

[@allanegleston4931]

thank you

[@offgridmangogrower]

Really enjoyed this chunk of oil and gas history…! What places are open for the public to visit…?

[@vicbittertoo]

geez, bloody tough blokes back then !!!

[@curtisevanschicago]

Here after watching the film "There Will Be Blood"

[@kenciolek843]

very interesting...oil drilling is like my Bible studying

[@tommas2674]

these voters and the gov very bad. so good paying jobs with benefits, which add to the tax money for infrastructure to pay for illegals and other traitors of their homelands and can increase GDP and more people with more purchasing power to support low paying no benefits retaitls and service companies increase their bottom line. what are their names Xi, Mohammad, Fernandez, Sheik Opec, newsome, pelosi, omar, aoc destroyer on the INSIDE.

[@davefellhoelter1343]

Cool Tech! I'm 3rd gen CA a Journeyman Millwright, Electrician Industrial Haz Location controls, Pipefitter, Plumber, Carpenter, Teamster, Glazier, and Red Necked Engineer! What the Heck is "Babaute? or "Babot?" Tin? Lead? Bronze? I have also worked in Foundries and Casting in CA!

[@mikefightmaster]

Babbitt - like babbitt bearings in old car engine bearings. Mainly lead with different alloys. Linotype is a similar type alloy.

[@tecate9408]

And yet somehow gas is over 5 bucks a gallon in 2022

[@douglasscott5623]

Newsome has shut most production in Caliunicornia on accounta we be getting all our power from windmills. Well except on those really hot days in the summer with no wind... We had our own gig going until CalEPA got involved. So now instead of creating smoggy stuff in Caliunicornia, they import it from elsewhere and let them create the smoggy stuff there. We feel good about saving the planet while Nigeria's rivers are swimming in oil. Nice

[@WyattEmge]

​@Dennis Wilson you must not know any working class folks cause that's is a typical week for any real worker in the bay area.

[@JB-rt4mx]

LOL

[@richarddecker9515]

I have never paid five dollars

[@gnescom]

You’re talking about different gas.

[@erickellogg8532]

didn't union oil own a part of huntington beach

[@TELEthruVOXx]

They’s oil in them there hills!

[@timmyo3162]

Before politicans destroyed this once amazing state

[@dave9351]

Jed and Granny Clampett would approve ! Where's Elly May ?

[@sockitz.splatez]

Great video & History

[@joshuadearnley466]

Great stuff

[@workhardlivefree3818]

That walking beam @ 13:00 isn't balanced. Needs about 6" out of the lift arm.

[@Hino992]

Great video but why on earth did you feel the need for so called "background" music.? I had to turn off less than half way through because of it's intrusion.

[@ericmoeller3634]

the left audio channel cuts out i thought it was my true wireless earbuds

[@scott7377]

Those Texans well all the oilmen much respect from me

[@MrThenry1988]

Awesome.

[@rosewhite---]

3:44 the hillside shows amazing sediments that were left by The Flood 4,350 years ago and then as the flood waters drained away the sediments slumped into the shapes seen.

[@aaronschwingel3330]

😂

[@rosewhite---]

@@aaronschwingel3330 Maybe you need to go lie down in a dark basement?

[@aaronschwingel3330]

sorry. with Flat Earthers getting all the attention these days, sometimes I forget there are still people who believe in other ridiculous ideas like "Flood Geology"- an absurd attempt to forcefully reconcile geological evidence with a story from the bible. the natural processes that formed these sediment layers are quite simple and can be easily understood by even a child. it's ludicrous that people would point at these and say "the only possible explanation is a global flood". God bless

[@chupacabra1765]

You're half right. These massive deposits were carried from the north by massive flood waters during successive ice age thaws. There is ample evidence of these if you know what to look for on Google Earth and liDAR maps. The deposits buried large amounts of organic material and life forms from large inland seas., the largest was in the central valley. Under weight ,pressure and time, oil developed.

[@scott7377]

Makes me wonder man.Noah's Ark etc

[@boser1212]

I couldn’t even guess how many men died working in the oil industry in those days.

[@jacobcarlson8695]

It was a tough job.

[@tommas2674]

these voters and the gov very bad. so good paying jobs with benefits, which add to the tax money for infrastructure to pay for illegals and other traitors of their homelands and can increase GDP and more people with more purchasing power to support low paying no benefits retaitls and service companies increase their bottom line. what are their names Xi, Mohammad, Fernandez, Sheik Opec, newsome, pelosi, omar, aoc destroyer on the INSIDE.

[@minimanadam]

How many of them workers were woman ? I'd like to see woman attempt to do this work , solely woman too

[@BrokeMoFo]

If you want to see an example of the tram they were talking about look at this one still in operation... kzbin.info/www/bejne/aYbMg3apd96Cg6c

[@erickellogg8532]

who invented the central power unit

[@mikezylstra7514]

What a clever gizmo, eh?

[@peterpiper47]

Drainage Eli!!

[@Sb129]

cool

[@rickjohnson1632]

👍👍

[@blkcoupequattro]

Drill baby drill.....

[@brianmenzies7007]

Not today... We got Biden

[@uuglyddoll8333]

Scary looking things...

[@mikezylstra7514]

Bet there's black widow spiders all over the place by those rigs. Ewwww!

[@JackGarat]

Not in ca. We got newsom

[@eprofessio]

I can’t believe how they don’t mention the natural regeneration of oil and gas products in these older wells.

[@ramenlover1727]

Takes thousands of years

[@eprofessio]

I was being sarcastic. We are almost out of easily recovered oil worldwide. Have been since the 1970’s.

[@ramenlover1727]

we should invade iran for oil@@eprofessio

[@DaveyCrockett1]

They did this to California? Raped the land??!! I deserve restitution!!! As a 2020ian I'm owed reparations because I have to endure the carbon output of those monsters. I want windmills and solar. I feel like it's my punishment to only receive energy when the wind blows or there are no clouds in the sky.

[@makingithappen5178]

Is there such a bad profit on the oil wells, that he can not afford to buy new pumps?

[@a.a7648]

now they are making energy from their urine

[@smjhobbies4527]

Think about how heavy our planet was, before it sucked up all the oil out of the center of the Earth. Think about how much oil has been sucked out of this planet, it's almost dry comparatively. That means the Earth doesn't weigh nowhere near what it used to weigh, and that has to have an effect on the gravitational pull and rotation and everything else associated with our universe and our travel through space I think our planet's going faster than it used to not spending wise but rotating wise and I know the days would be shorter blah blah blah but don't forget it might take a long time before we notice the difference

[@mikezylstra7514]

What frightens me is that as I'm sure you know, the earth spins on an axle. If they remove too much oil that axle is gonna get hot - so hot that one day it'll snap - and then we'll all fly off to Kingdom Come!

[@smjhobbies4527]

@@mikezylstra7514 I hope I'm awake if that happens.

[@smjhobbies4527]

@@mikezylstra7514 I'm sorry and you are right that is a very frightening thought

[@again5162]

When the 3 gorges dam in China filled it slowed rotation of the earth by a millionth of a millisecond it's imperceptible. I'd be more worried if everybody in China decided to all jump up and down at the same time

[@theresataylor9913]

“Matter is neither created nor destroyed.” Must be a bunch of stuff in our atmosphere.

[@victoryfirst2878]

I can only imagine the mess that the oil industry made polluting the environment in California. The record of the industry is a mess also.

[@davidschwartz5127]

That's true but look at the good that has been done by the products the wells produced, we would still be back in the whale hunting ages with no whale to hunt and possible extinction of the human race. I know many of the environmentalists would be happy about that now wouldn't they?

[@victoryfirst2878]

@@davidschwartz5127 A very valid point made David. But if all the inventions that provide great MPG be used instead of being bought by the oil companies and shelved mankind would be way ahead of the game. Right now all the oil and gas companies are just lining the pockets of politicians and lying lawyers to pollute the plant. AMERICAN GREED STRIKES AGAIN.

[@johnnyasmith3425]

Take a look at any industry , then complain .

[@victoryfirst2878]

@@davidschwartz5127 Part of the statement is correct. But the mess left behind with three million wells around America not sealed. Who the hell are you kidding.

[@victoryfirst2878]

@@johnnyasmith3425 I would bet you the oil and gas industry is without a doubt the worst mankind has ever seen. The fracking industry lost 8.5 trillion dollars on a pipe dream. Drill baby Drill. There's a reason all oil companies are in one form or another of chapter 11. Fact fella.

[@1or2there]

Mor like erly greed (as it trns out) . . .