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Home California Los Angeles County County Newhall Well, CSO 4 (Pico 4)

Well, CSO 4 (Pico 4)

On W Pico Canyon Rd 3.3 mi W of I-5, , Newhall, CA , USA
  California CA State Historical Marker
California State
Historical Marker

 
On this site stands CSO-4 (Pico 4), California's first commercially productive well. It was spudded in early 1876 under direction of Demetrious G. Scofield who later became the first president of Standard Oil Company of California, and was completed at a depth of 300 feet on September 26, 1876, for an initial flow of 30 barrels of oil a day. Later that year, after the well was deepened to 600 feet with what was perhaps the first steam rig employed in oil well drilling in California, it produced at a rate of 150 barrels a day - it is still producing after 77 years (1953). The success of this well prompted formation of the Pacific Coast Oil Company, a predecessor of Standard Oil Company of California, and led to the construction of the state's first refinery nearby. It was not only the discovery well of the Newhall Field, but was a powerful stimulus to the subsequent development of the California petroleum industry.

Last updated: 2/15/2016 21:05:00