<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article is an orphan, as no other articles link to it . Please introduce links to this page from related articles; try the Find link tool for suggestions . (December 2014) </Td> </Tr> <P> The history of the Indian oil industry extends back to the period of the British Raj, at a time when petroleum first became a primary global energy source . </P> <P> 1866: Oil discovery at Nahorpung, Assam . 1882: Big "Oil Seepage" in Digboi during construction of Dibrugarh - Ledo Railway Line . The first oil production started in India were in 1889 near the town of Digboi in the state of Assam . This discovery came on the heels of industrial development . The Assam Railways and Trading Company (ARTC) had recently opened the area for trade by building a railway and later finding oil nearby . The first well was completed in 1890 and in 1893 first refinery started at Margharita, Assam . The Assam Oil Company was established in 1899 to oversee production . In 1901, Digboi Refinery was commissioned supplanting the earlier refinery at Margharita . At its peak during the Second World War the Digboi oil fields were producing 7,000 barrels per day . At the turn of the century however as the best and most profitable uses for oil were still being debated, India was seen not as a producer but as a market, most notably for fuel oil for cooking . As the potential applications for oil shifted from domestic to industrial and military usage this was no longer the case and apart from its small domestic production India was largely ignored in terms of oil diplomacy and even written off by some as hydrocarbon barren . Despite this however British colonial rule laid down much of the country's infrastructure, most notably the railways.In the year 1909, IBP was incorporated as the Indo - Burma petroleum company limited in Rangoon and in 1942 the corporate office of the petrochemical company was shifted to Calcutta, India.In 1928, Asiatic Petroleum Company (India) started cooperation with Burmah Oil Company . This alliance led to the formation of Burmah - Shell Oil Storage and Distributing Company of India Limited . Burmah - Shell began its operations with import and marketing of Kerosene . On 24th of January, 1976, the Burmah Sell was taken over by the Government of India to form Bharat Refineries Limited . On 1st August, 1977, it was renamed as Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited . </P> <P> After India won independence in 1947, the new government moved to a Communist system, often termed as License Raj . In terms of economic policy this meant a far bigger role for the government and little or no role for the private sector . This resulted in a focus on centralized planning, heavily bureaucratic and inefficient system that meant a large public sector and economic protectionism . </P>

Who discoved the occurrence of oil in assam