Museum of Romanian Oil Industry

Str. Dr. Bagdasar nr. 8, Ploesti 100575
9:00 - 17:00; Monday: closed

The museum was established on the occasion of the Romanian oil industry centenary in 1957. The museum heritage rose from 800 pieces in 1961 to over 8000 in 1994. The museum presents items illustrating oil history in this country and aspects relating to ore geology and petrochemistry: mining tools and lamps from the 19th century; oil lamps from Bucharest - the first city in the world lighted by oil in 1859; wood or metal drilling equipment from the 19th century; rotating drilling equipment; distillery and refinery models (the first Romanian distillery at Ploies¸ti, from 1859, belonged to Teodor Mehedint¸eanu) boards illustrating the SO2 system invented by Lazar Edeleanu and applied all over the world history of oil, gas manufacturing; geological maps, mineralogical samples, petrochemical products; diplomas, photographs.

Additional important dates:

• 1861 - The first well drilled in Romania, to a depth of 150m, using wooden rods and auger type bits
• 1882 - The setup of the Geological Bureau
• 1895 - The Law of Mines governs crude oil production
• 1896 - The setup of the Romanian Company STEAUA ROMANA
• 1898 - STEAUA ROMANA finishes the construction of a refinery and central workshops
• 1903 - The setup of the Romanian-American Company STANDARD OIL
• 1904 - The start of the CONCORDIA Company; The setup of the School for Drilling and Refining Foremen in Campina
• 1905 - The start of CREDITUL MINIER and VEGA
• 1906 - The founding of the Romanian Geologic Institute; The setup of a French-Romanian Company UNIREA AQUILA
• 1907 - The Romanian-American Company drilled the first well with a rotary bit; The third International Petroleum Conference is held in Bucharest; The testing of the first air-system extraction by STEAUA ROMANA, in Campina
• 1908 - The first manufacture of oil equipment , installations and the start of repair workshops in Ploiesti
• 1910 - The start of the ASTRA ROMANA Company
• 1912 - The first use of tacit type valve, the first blow-out preventer system
• 1913 - The first natural gas production
• 1914 - The start of the Petroleum and Mines Section within the Roads and Bridges Construction School
• 1921 - The testing of the gas-lift extraction system, by ASTRA ROMANA
• 1925 - The first production of crude oil of the Sarata Monteoru mine
• 1927 - The execution of the first mechanical core and the first gun casing perforation
• 1931 - The execution of the first electrical well logging
• 1936 - The first gas injection, on an industrial scale by ASTRA ROMANA, at the  Meotian Boldesti oil field, at a 1800 m depth
• 1942 - Oil and Gas production is governed by the "Petroleum Law"
• 1951 - The first water injection operation on an industrial scale at Sarmatian Boldesti oil field, at a 2600 m depth
• 1974 - A national programme for increasing oil recovery is created
• 1975 - The first offshore drilling platform is set on position on the continental platform of the Black Sea
• 1979 - The 10th World Petroleum Congress is held in Bucharest; First underground gas storage
• 1984 - 7000 Baicoi well reaches a depth of 7025 m
• 1987 - The first offshore oil production starts; The first offshore water injection process is initiated
• 1993 - The SPE Romanian section is set up
• 1995 - The National Agency for Mineral Resources is founded and the new Petroleum Law comes into force
• 2004 - PETROM becomes a member of the OMV Group