1854 Chemistry Professor Benjamin Silliman, of Yale University is the first to fractionate petroleum by distillation.
1901 The first great Texas gusher, oil discovered at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas
1908 Discovery of oil deposits near the Persian city of Abadan.
1922 Teapot Dome scandal: United States Secretary of the Interior leases Teapot Dome oil reserves in Wyoming.
1938 Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.
1938 Mexico nationalizes all foreign-owned oil properties within its borders.
1963 King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals is established by a Saudi Royal Decree as the College of Petroleum and Minerals.
1971 Representatives of 23 western oil companies begin negotiations with OPEC in Tehran to stabilize oil prices. February 14 they sign a treaty with six Persian Gulf countries.
1974 Oil embargo crisis: Most OPEC nations end a 5-month oil embargo against the United States, Europe and Japan.
1979 Iran hostage crisis: In response to the hostage situation in Tehran, U.S. President Jimmy Carter orders a halt to all oil imports into the United States from Iran.
1980 During a summit on the island of Bali, OPEC decides to raise the price of petroleum by 10%.
1982 The United States places an embargo on Libyan oil imports, alleging Libyan support of terrorist groups.
1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill: In Alaska's Prince William Sound the ''Exxon Valdez'' spills 240,000 barrels (11 million gallons) of oil after running aground.
1992 The Greek oil tanker ''Aegean Sea'', carrying 80,000 tonnes of crude oil, runs aground in a storm while on approach to Coru