Browse Items (7121 total)

Bird's eye view of old abandoned drilling site, with dilapidated buildings in view. "Presently this type of operation would be cleaned up and wells 'capped' for future use or discard."

A man in a hard hat stands next to oil drilling equipment in the outdoors.

An older man stands on an older style wooden drilling platform that is abandoned. The well is just to the right of the "Old-Timer". The large cable reel is in the rear and there are several pieces of equipment left on the platform deck.

Description from back of photo reads: "Here is a portable well pulling unit and telescoping mast which is used when producing wells are in need of repair. The stands of the pipe in the foreground are called tubing and it is through this tubing that…

Bird's eye view of a portable drilling rig, most likely cleaning out or reworking a previously drilled well. Standing tubing stock piled on ground for future use.

Truck used for hauling equipment to oil drilling site. Truck has tubing on the back and is loading small drilling or cleanout rig. Two men in hard hats in image.

Description on back of photo reads: "Commonly referred to as a trap farm is this installation of gas traps, manifolding and flow tanks. A trap farm is a central collecting point for oil and gas production as it comes directly from the wells. The…

View of "Hartman No. 5" a hydraulic pumping unit. Museum records indicate that this is at Ventura Oil Field, Getty Oil Company.

Description from back of photo: "Hydraulic lift pumping units are designed for pumping wells from 8,000 feet to 12,000…

Description from back of photo: "An air balancing jack, all of which means it is simply another type and make of pumping unit. Instead of the heavy cast iron counter balance weights shown on image 14151 OS, this type unit uses a pneumatic right hand…

A view of the Lufkin pumping unit at the Ventura Oil Fields. Description from back of photo: "This is a pumping unit which is powered by a multiple cylinder engine using natural gas for fuel. The three heavy beams shown are the strong members…

Description from back of photo: "The average Christmas tree of today has only one leg as show in this picture. The fittings on this Christmas tree do not have to stand the pressures shown in the older style tree and are more economical to install.…

Description on the back of photograph reads: "Unitized drill pipe slips. The handles on the right and left are so placed that two rotary helpers may easily place these slips around the drill pipe so that the weight of the pipe will hang from the…

Description from back of photograph: "This curious looking thing is a rotary tong. In operation it latches around the drill pipe and is used as a large wrench to screw or unscrew the drill pipe. These tongs are so heavy they must be suspended from…

Description from back of photograph: "These little white tags are attached to the end of core trays and each core is an interval of formation cored, or cut out of the sand, or the rock, the bit is going through at that particular depth. By studying…

Image of a drill being lowered. Description on back of photograph refers to photo 14145 OS, and reads: "Here see an overall view of the same well with Mr. Cliver lowering his bit deeper in the hole. The pipe shown hanging in the center of the derrick…

Description from back of photograph: "Here we meet Mr. Orville W. Cliver, seasoned veteran who has 35 years of experience in oilfield work. While drilling operations are in progress the driller, or one of his crewmen, must constantly watch the wight…

Description on back of photograph: "These five boilers are being used to generate steam for a drilling well which may be up to 2000 feet away from the boiler setting. The steam is piped to the location through a 6 inch pipe line which can be see on…

Description on back of photograph: "The drilling crew on this location have completed the well and are taking out the rotary table. The control gate has been removed and is lying on the dolly walk at the bottom of the picture. After a well is…

A closeup view of rock drill bits taken at a well location. Description from back of photo: "These its are screwed on to the end of the drill pipe and perform actual cutting operations on the bottom of the hole. When a bit becomes drill and a…

A view of drilling tools stored on the toolhouse rack. The objects in the immediate center foreground are called "subs" and are used to join together joints of pipe which have different type threads.

The objects in the center with curved bails are…

Drilling equipment--this view is taken on the toolhouse rack and shows several pieces of equipment that are used during drilling operations. To the extreme left is a goose neck swivel from which the drill pipe hangs when it is being rotated. In the…

Men working--rigging up preparatory to commencing drilling operations. This means installing all the necessary equipment, such as drawworks, crown block, rotary table, mud pumps, engine, etc.

Image of oil equipment. The rectangular steel boxes in the foreground are called mud pits and act as reservoirs for the intake of the mud pumps, which will be used during drilling operations.

The hat shaped object in the left hand corner is a mud…

Aerial photograph of the Oxnard sugar beet factory and the grounds surrounding it.

Mural at Ted M. Mayr funeral home, chapel pews in foreground, mural in center. Chandeliers/light fixtures at top of image.