February 17, 1958

The first shipment of crude oil left Port Harcourt for Britain. The tanker load was sent to scientists at Shell and British Petroleum companies for analysis of its quality and blending properties. That was the last step in the two companies’ 21-year long search for oil in Nigeria which was said to have cost 75 million dollars. The two companies were operating on a Nigerian government concession back then and had drilled 17 wells, seven of which were productive. This first load came from oil wells in Asam and Oloibiri which lie about 20 and 50 miles respectively northeast of Port Harcourt. Oil from three wells at Asam was pumped to the Port daily by pipe line while that of the four wells in Oloibiri was pumped to Kugbo creek, loaded into barges and towed to Port Harcourt. [Source: Chicago Tribune, February 16, 1958.]