Oil in the Cushing - Drumright Area

Discovered in March 1912 by Tom Slick and C. B. Shaffer, the Cushing field became one of the greatest oil discoveries of the early 1900's -- Ranking as the nation's largest oil province for the next eight years. Production peaked in May 1915 at 300,000 barrels daily. This glut of oil played havoc with domestic and international oil workers. Led to above ground storage exceeding 1.75 million barrels of unsold oil with resultant loss of valuable volatiles. Helped bring maturity to Oklahoma's oil industry and an awareness of conservation needs. Turned Cushing into a boomtown and vital supply center for area oil operations. Made the Cushing area a major processing center with 23 refineries. Brought into being a new town, Drumright, located near the discovery well. Provided much of the increased U.S. oil supply during World War 1 that prompted Britain's Lord Curzon to state that the allies floated to victory on a sea of oil. Cumulative production exceeded 450,000,000 barrels by the end of 1979. Cushing retains its role in oil history as the "pipeline crossroads of the world" Here in 1979 is the greatest concentration of major carriers in the world, with 23 pipeline systems and total capacity of over 30,000,000 barrels. - Oklahoma Historical Society with Oklahoma Petroleum Council, 1979