The cultural and historical geographies of onshore oil exploration in the British East Midlands during the 20th century
Publication Date
December 14, 2016
Creator
Abstract
This thesis tells the hitherto neglected story of onshore oil exploration in the British East Midlands from 1908 to 1964. Drawing on a series of case studies it provides a regional historical geography, connecting science and industry to the exploratory field science of geology. During the period examined, two low key discoveries – Hardstoft, in Derbyshire (1919), and Eakring, in Nottinghamshire (1939) - altered Britain’s energy prospects, supplementing coal with liquid mineral oil. Using archival research methods and oral testimonies, the thesis reveals how a diverse assemblage of earth scientists, oilfield technologies and techniques, institutions and private companies developed a regional laboratory for oil exploration. Liquid energy fuelled heated political debates over land nationalisation and private ownership rights, the science of subsurface quantification and governance, and the role of industry in exploration. Though small when compared with global consumption and production figures, oil discovered in the British East Midlands provided a time critical supply of oil during World War Two. It also facilitated technological advances in oilfield development, contributed towards a new arm of economic geology (geophysics) and encouraged earth scientists to think of territory as a three dimensional entity, extending beneath, as well as along the land surface.
Item Type
ethesis
Thesis Type
PhD
Supervisors
Subjects (LC)
Associated Schools / Departments
School of Geography
eprints ID
35862
UoN Repository URI
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
Andrew Naylor PhD Thesis 16-08-2016.pdf
Type
Full-text
Description
Examined
Size
5.53 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
4dabf6263d9f175f89675341984476b7