Lakeview Gusher


Lakeview Gusher Number One was an eruption of hydrocarbons from a pressurized oil well in the Midway-Sunset Oil Field in Kern County, California, in 1910. It created the largest accidental oil spill in history, lasting 18 months and releasing of crude oil.
Midway-Sunset was one of the largest oil reserves in the United States. When drilling commenced, the Lakeview Oil Company expected natural gas and a small amount of oil. Instead, there was a large blowout which overloaded storage tanks.
The geyser released more than of crude oil, far more than any other single leak on land or water. Its site is located about a half-mile east of the Taft–Maricopa Highway, California Route 33, marked by a Caltrans guide sign and a bronze plaque designated as California Historical Landmark number 485.

Background

The Lakeview Oil Company started drilling at its Number One well on 1 January 1909. Initially only natural gas was found. As work continued the company partnered with the Union Oil Company, which wanted to build storage tanks there.
Early twentieth-century drilling technology lacked such modern safety features as blowout preventers. When drilling reached a well depth of on 15 March 1910, pressurized oil blew through the well casing above the bit. An estimated escaped before the gusher was brought under control in September 1911.
The initial daily flow was, creating a river of crude that crews rushed to contain with improvised sand bag dams and dikes. Peak flow reached per day, diverted via a pipeline to storage tanks away, where an line led to Port Avila on the coast. In spite of these efforts, less than half of the 9.4 million barrels released during the gusher's 544 days were saved. The rest evaporated or seeped into the ground.