National Oil Museum, Ploiești, Prahova

1. Temporary exhibition

I made the right choice to start from here, as much of the information was centered on the personality of the scientist Lazar Edeleanu, director of the Vega Refinery, who revolutionized the world of oil. His merits were recognized both by the Royal Household and internationally in London. The Edeleanu Process, which changed the history of the industry. He invented the sulfur dioxide refining process.

I also found interesting the panel on Ancient Conceptions on the Origin of Pitch. Thus in the 3rd millennium B.C. Straton claimed that asphalt is a kind of molten earth. In the eighteenth century it was believed that "after the ancient sin some of the fats are attracted by the Sun, and some sink into the Earth and turn into pitch.

2. Main Hall

We then moved to the main hall where a one-way serpentine circuit is organized, on both sides of the corridor formed by a multitude of interesting exhibits. It starts with "Oil in the universal and Romanian antiquity", then we learn about the "Mehedinteanu brothers' gas factory". We also have images of the transportation of oil. Several lanterns and lamps are exhibited.

The year 1857 is marked as a milestone for the oil industry. Did you know that in 1857 Romania recorded 3 world firsts: it officially appeared in the international statistics with a production of 275 tons of crude oil, in Ploiesti was built by the Mehedinteanu brothers the first refinery in the world, and Bucharest was the first city in the world to be illuminated with kerosene. We know the names of the industrial units: Steaua Romana, Societatea Romano-Americana, Concordia, Astra Romana, Creditul Minier.

3. Larger models and assemblies

Several well models stand out. Or assemblies of drilling or extractive equipment. We're moving toward larger and larger units. We pass the seismic processing plant. We're marking the country's oil plays. A superb model of an oil tanker is certainly one of the museum's attractions. In a display case, there are several containers of oil extracted from different deposits. And we realize how complex this branch of industry is when an explanatory diagram shows how many products can be obtained from the banal oil

4. Open-air museum

The courtyard displays heavy industrial components, obviously long out of use, but which worked in their time. One surprise is the so-called horse-drawn hecna - a device used for digging wells in the 16th century.