About Us

The mission of the PETROLEUM HISTORY INSTITUTE is to pursue the history, heritage and development of the modern oil industry from its 1859 inception in Oil Creek Valley, Pennsylvania, to its early roots in other regions in North America and the subsequent spread throughout the world to its current global status. For more on the creation of the PETROLEUM HISTORY INSTITUTE, please see “Passing the Torch” by Larry Woodfork, Oil-Industry History, v. 4 (2003), p. 2.

To promote public awareness of the history and heritage of the international oil and gas industry through OIL-INDUSTRY HISTORY, the only journal devoted exclusively to this history, symposia of professional presentations, guided field trips through regions rich in oil history, and through a re-print series of out-of-print books that have played an important role in the development of the industry.

The Petroleum History Institute is a certified 501(c)3 organization.