History, Exploration & Exploitation of Oil and Gas

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

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2. From Local to Global Petroleum Geology: Hans Höfer von Heimhalt’s Contributions Between Empires, Economies and Epistemologies

   • Marianne Klemun

   Pages 1-11

3. History of Oil Exploration in the State of São Paulo Before the Foundation of Petrobras (1872–1953)

   • Júlia C. T. Oliveira, Silvia F. de M. Figueirôa

   Pages 13-24

4. Petroleum: New Energy Perspectives for Brazil in 1922

   • Maria Margaret Lopes

   Pages 25-36

5. Petroleum and Science: The National Petroleum Council and the Development of Oil Geology in Brazil

   • Natascha de Vasconcellos Otoya

   Pages 37-49

6. Teapot Dome: The Greatest Political Scandal in the History of the US Oil Industry

   • Matthew R. Silverman

   Pages 51-57

7. Technique and Exploration: The Beginning of Micropaleontology in the Brazilian Oil Industry

   • Drielli Peyerl, Elvio Pinto Bosetti

   Pages 59-69

8. From Colleague to Enemy? German Petroleum Geologists and the Cold War

   • Martina Kölbl-Ebert

   Pages 71-86

9. The Incredible Transforming History of a Former Oil Refiner into a Major Deepwater Offshore Operator: Blending Audacity, Technology, Policy, and Luck from the 1970s Oil Crisis up to the 2000s Pre-salt Discoveries

   • Edmilson Moutinho dos Santos, Drielli Peyerl

   Pages 87-100

10. Research Partnership Between Petrobras and Brazilian Universities in the Transition to the Twenty-First Century

    • Giovanna G. Gielfi

    Pages 101-109

This edited volume discusses scientific and technological aspects of the history of the oil and gas industry in national and international contexts. 


The search for oil for industrial uses began in the nineteenth century, the first drills made in Azerbaijan and the United States. This intense search for a substance to become one of the most important energy sources was, many times, based on skill as well as luck, resulting in knowledge and the development of prospecting and exploration technologies. 


The demand for oil improved expertise in geological science, in areas such as micropaleontology, stratigraphy or sedimentology and informed different disciplines such as geophysics. These contributions made possible not only the discovery of new oil fields but also new applications and methods of exploration. Beyond the scientific and technological aspects, an industry that grew to such considerable size also impacted the political, economic, social, cultural, environmental and diplomatic issues in history. The book approaches these changes in different scales, countries, areas, and perspectives.


This edited book appeals to researchers, student, practitioners in various fields from geology and geophysics to history. It is also an important resource for professionals in the oil and gas industry.

• Petroleum
• Geology
• Oil and Gas Exploration
• Geophysics
• Oil and Gas Exploitation
• Historical Geophysics
• History of Geotechnology
• Black Gold
• historical geology
• historical geography

• School of Education, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas-SP, Brazil

  Silvia Fernanda Figueirôa

• Center for History of Physics, American Institute of Physics, College Park, USA

  Gregory A. Good

• Institute of Energy and Environment, University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

  Drielli Peyerl

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