The Early Years

Forest Oil began operations in 1916 in the Bradford Oil Field of northwestern Pennsylvania. In the beginning, the company focused on improving secondary recovery techniques to increase production from wells that were considered depleted. Forest Oil pioneered the use of water flooding, a technique utilized to increase quantities of oil by injecting water into oil-bearing rock formations.

The success of the technique is credited for transforming the fledgling company into a significant oil producer. By 1922, Forest Oil was recognized as an authority in secondary recovery systems and by the 1930s, Forest Oil was ranked as the largest producer of Pennsylvania grade crude oil in the United States.

Building on Success

Following World War II, Forest Oil broadened its emphasis beyond secondary recovery and moved into the arena of exploration. The Company concentrated its focus on Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and the Rocky Mountain region for both oil and natural gas. Forest Oil participated in the first federal offshore lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico in 1953 and by the 1960s, the company discovered the Eugene Island 292 Field, one of the largest natural gas fields in the Gulf region.

During the 1960′s and 1970′s, Forest Oil explored onshore for deep natural gas targets under the plains of Oklahoma and Texas, setting an industry drilling depth record in 1964 with a 21,793-foot natural gas “wildcat” well in Pecos County, TX. Five years later, Forest went even deeper with a west Texas well drilled to almost 25,000 feet. To have accomplished those depths more than 40 years ago is remarkable.

A New Era

The start of the 21st Century was a transitional period for independent exploration and production companies, including Forest Oil. This new era brought with it the idea that industry success would come from the development of repeatable large-scale drilling programs in the United States. These drilling programs resulted in better overall economic returns. Forest Oil redesigned its portfolio commencing in 2003 with numerous acquisitions centered on these types of assets over a multiple-year period.

Forest Oil quickly moved to development of these assets with core fundamental principals being focused on efficiency with a heavy emphasis on controlling costs.

The success of Forest Oil’s new repeatable asset base brought an onshore United States focus, which has resulted in legacy assets that are a strategic fit to the organization.

The efforts in the first part of the 21st Century have transformed Forest Oil.  With an acute focus on development in large-scale repeatable drilling programs, Forest Oil now has the assets it set out to obtain.

The Company Today

Forest Oil and its subsidiaries are engaged in the exploration, acquisition, development, production and marketing of natural gas and crude oil.

From its humble beginnings in the Bradford Oil Field, Forest Oil has grown into a premier company with significant proven reserves.  It remains Forest Oil’s  responsibility to create value for its shareholders, its employees, the communities in which it operates, and to the free enterprise system under which it functions.

Through strategic acquisitions, financial discipline and the implementation of advanced technology, Forest Oil is positioned as an industry leader. With corporate headquarters in Denver, Colorado, Forest Oil employs over 600 people in the United States.

As we prepare for our next 100 years in business, we will be sustained by our founding principals. Forest Oil’s future depends on the application of these principals through dedicated efforts from a mixture of different perspectives, professions, and disciplines.