<P> The first successful oil well in North America was established in Oil Springs, Ontario, Canada in 1858 . The field is still in production although quantities are low . </P> <P> The history of the petroleum industry in the United States goes back to the early 19th century, although the indigenous peoples, like many ancient societies, have used petroleum seeps since prehistoric times; where found, these seeps signaled the growth of the industry from the earliest discoveries to the more recent . </P> <P> Petroleum became a major industry following the oil discovery at Oil Creek Pennsylvania in 1859 . For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, the US was the largest oil producing country in the world . As of October 2015, the US was the world's third - largest producer of crude oil . </P> <P> Indians had known of the oil in western Pennsylvania, and had made some use of it for many years before the mid-19th century . Early European explorers noted seeps of oil and natural gas in western Pennsylvania and New York . Interest grew substantially in the mid-1850s as scientists reported on the potential to manufacture kerosene from crude oil, if a sufficiently large oil supply could be found . </P>

When was oil first discovered in the us