Lakeview Gusher

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The Lakeview Gusher Number One is often regarded as the largest recorded U.S. oil well gusher. Located along Taft-Maricopa Highway (California State Route 33) in Kern County, California, the site is marked by the usual green CalTrans guide signs and a bronze plaque. It is also identified as State Historic Landmark #458. The Center for Land Use Interpretation identifies the coordinates as 35°04′48″N, 119°23′35″W (converted from decimal degrees).

Drilling at Lakeview Number One well was started by the Lakeview Oil Company on January 1, 1909. As the drilling continued, and only natural gas was found, the Lakeview company partnered with Union Oil Company which wanted to build storage tanks on Lakeview property.

Modern well drilling techniques have advanced safety features that reduce the chances of a gusher. In extreme conditions, early Twentieth-Century oil well drilling technology could not contain the high pressures encountered. The gusher made its debut March 14, 1910 as the drill bit found the 2,440-foot level.

The well casing is a steel pipe liner that contains oil as it is pumped from the depths. During drilling, the casing also guides the drill bit and drive shaft in a roughly-straight line. Pressure blew at least part of the well casing out, along with an estimated 9 million barrels (378 million gallons/1.4 billion liters) of oil, before the gusher was brought under control 18 months later, (about September 1911).

Sources cite varied quantities of oil produced by the gusher. One source said initial flow from the gusher was reported as 18,800 barrels per 24-hour period. Another said, at its peak, the flow reached 70,000-100,000 barrels per 24-hours. Other sources cite volumes above or below these numbers. The large flow created a creek of crude oil running downhill from the well site. Crews rushed to contain the river of crude oil with a system of improvised sand bag dams and dikes. Remarkably, the gusher never caught fire during its gassy, 18-month stint.

[edit] Sources

Bailey, Richard C., Kern County Place Names, (Bakersfield, California: Merchant's Printing and Lithography Co., 1967).
Rintoul, William, "Wood Derricks and Steel Men," Drilling Through Time, (Sacramento, California: California Department of Conservation, Division of Oil and Gas, 1990), pp. 13-15.
Latts, F. F., "Chapter 33: Lakeview Gusher," Black Gold in the San Joaquin, (Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers, Ltd., 1949).
"Oil" #609, California's Gold, Huell Howser Productions, 1995.