Roughnecks, Rock Bits, and Rigs: The Evolution of Oil Well Drilling Technology in Alberta, 1883–1970

Barb Bloemhof is an assistant professor in the Department of Sport
Management at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Supported by a rich collection of figures and maps, Roughnecks, Rock
Bits, and Rigs details the effects of technological changes on the
petroleum industry in Western Canada. The chapter on the dangers of
drilling—an aspect of the industry that is generally overlooked—is
particularly welcome.

The book’s exclusive focus on the western Canadian sedimentary basin,
while certainly sensible, glosses over the differences between drilling
knowledge and technological evolution in the movement of key operations
people from the Petrolia and Pennsylvania oil fields to the high-sulphur
resources out west in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The
differences in resource characteristics would ground the theme of the
technological direction observed in the west. Some terms, such as
“coal gas” for manufactured gas, are missing from the glossary.
Also, the book does not address the revolutionary changes in drilling
technologies that have occurred since 1980.

Caveats aside, Gow’s accessible book will be a useful reference for
those seeking information on drilling technologies.