Royalite Oil

This company began at the drill site of Dingman #1, (Alberta's first major gas discovery in 1914). It came about when Calgary Petroleum Product Company had only nine wells in operation by 1920, and produced just 66,000 barrels of natural gas in 10 years. That coupled with the fire that ripped through the absorption plant in October of that year. Being unable to pay the $50,000 repair bill sold its operations to Imperial Oil. Imperial Oil reorganized the company under the name Royalite Oil Company Ltd.

After repairing the damage to the plant and completing two more wells in the area, the company struck a massive reserve of natural gas. Royalite No. 4 "blew in" spewing upwards of 20 million cubic feet of gas from the ground per day.

Pressure on the single well increased rapidly, and the site was evacuated just before the well burst, shooting the drill pipe straight out of the hole. Fire erupted on the drill site, buring for 21 days before it was put under control. The fire was eventually put out, nearly 600 million cubic feet of natural gas went up in flames each day, as Royalite continued to re-route excess gas, burning it off in a nearby ravine.

During the next 12 years, Royalite became Canada's largest local source of gas.
Building 114 wells that produced more than 900,000 barrels.

Royalite went on to aquire several petroleum companies, Sterling Pacific Oil company, Maryland Oil Company and Southern Lowery Oils Ltd. When the interests of it's parent company (Imperial Oil) went north, Imperial Oil sold Royalite in 1948 for $15 million to Dominion Securities with the money being used for it's interests at Leduc.

Royalite continued to grow purchasing the Redwater field from the Alberta government, building several refineries and opening service stations in 1953.

Royalite took over Hi-Way Refineries in 1954 and by 1958 had become a fully intergrated oil compnay with production, transportation, refining and marketing facilities in four provinces.

In 1962, British American Oil took over with marketing functions being delegated to it's affiliate Purity 99. Service remained the business of Royalite. During this time the company expanded its interests into the oilsands. Although, short lived Royalite patented three inventions related to work in the oilsands.

The Royalite era ended in 1969, when they amalgamated with British American and Shawinigan Chemicals to become Gulf Oil Canada Ltd.


References: Alberta Inventors and Inventions "A Century of Innovation" - Royalite Oil
http://.www.abheritage.ca/abinvents/inventors/royaliteoil_biography.htm