<P> 1866: Oil discovery at Nahorpung, Assam . Not explored . 1882: Big "Oil Seepage" in Digboi during construction of Dibrugarh - Ledo Railway Line . The first oil production started in India in 1889 near the town of Digboi in the state of Assam . A Small thatched structure was erected and christened "Oil well no. 1" or "Discovery". 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. . In the year 1909, IBP (Indo Burmah Petroleum) was incorporated in Rangoon to explore oil wells that had been discovered in Burma and Assam . </P> <P> Oil in colonial India was mostly exploited by a number of British companies with intricate alliances . Their output began to increase during the first and second world wars to support British troops and industries in the United Kingdom . </P> <P> 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>

Which freedom fighter know as father of the indian petroleum industry