Surface deposits of crude oil have been around for thousands of years, although there were limited uses available before the 14th century.  Some of the earlier uses were caulking boats, waterproofing cloth, and fueling torches. Despite the limited uses, oil was still readily available due to the natural oil seeps on the grounds surface.  Archeologists found 6,000 year old mosaics imprinted in asphalt in the Middle East. Asphalt from natural oil seeps was used before 3000 BC for roads, buildings, and waterproofing boats.

Asphalt was also used to cement stones,  construct pyramids and to waterproof cisterns and silos.  Along the Western coast of the Caspian Sea, archeologists have found many natural gas and oil seeps.  Some of these have been burning for thousands of years, known as the eternal fires of Persia.  Ancient Egyptians and the Chinese were also know to have used petroleum as medicine.

The Indians of Central America and Mexico used asphalt to create cement for buldings.  The Toltecs set mosaics in the asphalt much like they did in the Middle East.  The Iriqois and Seneca tribes of North America used petroleum as medicine, fuel for ceremonial fires and as paint for their bodies.

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The mid 1850's was when the breakthrough in the crude oil inudstry occured.  When their becamse a need for lubricating oils for machines and oil lamps for homes, the popularity of crude oil increased immensly.  In 1849 James Young of Scotland patented a process that converted coal into coal oil.  A similar process was patented at the same time by a Canadian named Abraham Gesner.  Gesners product was kerosene, named after the Greek words for "oil" and "wax." These became popular because they were less expensive than whale oil, which was previously used.  In 1857 A.C Ferris produced a clean-burning kerosene that didn't produce a bad smell.          Edwin Drake set the mark for the rapid growth of the petroleum industry.  When Drake leased lands from the Pennsylvania Rock oil Company he formed the Seneca Oil Company and drilled into an oil seep on Oil Creek with a drilling rig used for bring wells. This was a great success, in the sense that they foudn themselves producing oil at a rate of 20 barrels per day.  During the 1960's the drilling expanded to West Vriginia, New York, Ohio, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Colorado, and California.

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The first oil pipeline was built  in 1865 from the Pithole City Oil Field to the Oil Creek Railroad. The first long pipeline was built in Pennsylvania in 1879, becoming one of the most famous engineering accomplishments of the period.

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From 1859 to 1900 the popular petroleum product was kerosene for lamps and some lubricants for machines.  Gasoline was not yet a necessity.  In the 1880's a conventional oil drilling rig was introduced.  In 1901 the first modern rotary rig was useda t the Spindletop oil field  in Texas. This discovery triggered an increase of production in the US by 50% and 20% in world production.  By the following year 400 wells had been drilled on Spindletop and more than 100 oil companies were formed to drill, produce, refine,  and market this oil. Soon after this discovery, Kerosene became nearly obsolete (with the invention of the electric light bulb) and gasoline was in demand (with the production of cars.)