Oil well shooting is a method of increasing production of an oil well by removing obstructions to drilling, straightening crooked holes, preventing water penetration, and/or increaseing the flow of oil. Prior to 1910, a shell, made of dynamite and a sheet metal casing were lowered into a well and detonated by a blasting cap with a fuse. By 1918, the practice had evolved to use blasting gelatin, a mixture of nitroglycerin, guncotton and wood pulp.
Notable professionals
- Merle Haggard worked as an oil well shooter
- Francis "Tug" Nadeau Irving
Footnotes
- Oil Bulletin. 1922. pp. 404–407.
- ^ Kerwin, M. J. (1918). "Methods and Reasons for Oil Well Shooting". Summary of Operations; Annual Report of the State Oil and Gas Supervisor. California Division of Oil and Gas, California Division of Mines: 82.
- Aronowitz, Alfred G. 1968, p. 12.
References
- Aronowitz, Alfred G. (1968). "New Country Twang Hits Town". Life. Vol. 64, no. 18. Time, Inc. ISSN 0024-3019.
