<P> The modern history of petroleum began in the 19th century with the refining of paraffin from crude oil . The Scottish chemist James Young in 1847 noticed a natural petroleum seepage in the Riddings colliery at Alfreton , Derbyshire from which he distilled a light thin oil suitable for use as lamp oil , at the same time obtaining a thicker oil suitable for lubricating machinery . In 1846 , Baku ( settlement Bibi - Heybat ) the first ever well drilled with percussion tools to a depth of 21 meters for oil exploration . In 1848 , Young set up a small business refining the crude oil . The new oils were successful , but the supply of oil from the coal mine soon began to fail ( eventually being exhausted in 1851 ) . Young , noticing that the oil was dripping from the sandstone roof of the coal mine , theorized that it somehow originated from the action of heat on the coal seam and from this thought that it might be produced artificially . </P>
<P> The modern history of petroleum began in the 19th century with the refining of paraffin from crude oil . The Scottish chemist James Young in 1847 noticed a natural petroleum seepage in the Riddings colliery at Alfreton , Derbyshire from which he distilled a light thin oil suitable for use as lamp oil , at the same time obtaining a thicker oil suitable for lubricating machinery . In 1846 , Baku ( settlement Bibi - Heybat ) the first ever well drilled with percussion tools to a depth of 21 meters for oil exploration . In 1848 , Young set up a small business refining the crude oil . The new oils were successful , but the supply of oil from the coal mine soon began to fail ( eventually being exhausted in 1851 ) . Young , noticing that the oil was dripping from the sandstone roof of the coal mine , theorized that it somehow originated from the action of heat on the coal seam and from this thought that it might be produced artificially . </P>
when did the modern oil industry come into being
when did the modern oil industry come into being
19th century
19th century