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The Petroleum History Society established an awards program in 1995 to
recognize the valuable contributions of people and groups helping to keep
our story alive. These awards recognize contributions which encourage the study, communication,
preservation, and enjoyment of Canadian petroleum industry history. The Society's Awards Committee also considers the projects in terms of relevance, depth, availability, affordability and access by the public.
Nominations are accepted from the general public as well as from Petroleum History Society members. To nominate someone for an award, please send an email to contact@petroleumhistory.ca
and we will contact you with more information.
Award Winners
Note: The awards are presented the year following - for example 2019
Awards are presented in 2020.
Book | Article | Multimedia
| Preservation | Lifetime
Achievement
Book of the Year |
| |
Recipient |
Achievement |
| 2023 |
Dave Werklund With Robert Brehl |
For “Unconventional – the Story of an Entrepreneurial Environmentalist Inside Alberta’s Oil and Gas Industry”
Published by Barlow Books |
| 2022 |
Gary May |
For "Crude Genius: The Making of an International Oil Baron”
Published by Mosaic Press |
| 2021 |
George Johnson |
"ATCO: An Epic Legacy"
Published by Epic Legacies Inc. |
| 2020 |
Donald J. Savoie |
Thanks for the Business” – K. C. Irving, Arthur Irving, and the story of Irving Oil
Published by Nimbus Publishing |
| 2019 |
Graham Taylor |
Imperial Standard – Imperial Oil, Exxon, and the Canadian Oil Industry from 1880
Published by the University of Calgary Press |
| 2018 |
Jacques Poitras |
“Pipe Dreams: The Fight For Canada’s Energy Future”
Published By Viking Canada |
| 2017 |
Peter McKenzie-Brown |
Bitumen - The People, Performance and Passions Behind Alberta's Oil Sands
Self-published |
| 2016 |
Robert Bott, Graham Chandler and Peter McKenzie-Brown |
Footprints - The Evolution of Land Conservation and Reclamation in Alberta
Published by Kingsley Publishing Services |
| 2015 |
Don Gillmor |
Long Change
Published by Random House Canada
See Amazon |
| 2014 |
Dr. Alan J. MacFadyen and
G. Campbell Watkins |
Petropolitics: Petroleum Development, Markets and Regulations, Alberta as an Illustrative History
Published by the University of Calgary Press |
| 2013 |
Gordon Jaremko |
Steward - 75 Years of Alberta Energy Regulation
Published by the Energy Resources Conservation Board |
| 2012 |
Arne Nielsen |
We Gambled Everything - The Life and Times of an Oilman
Published by The University of Alberta Press |
| 2011 |
Joyce E. Hunt |
Local Push – Global Pull: The Untold Story Of The Athabaska Oilsands 1900 - 1930
Published By Pushpull Limited |
| 2010 |
John McQuarrie |
The Alberta Oil Patch - Then and Now
Published by Magic Light Publishing and John McQuarrie Photography |
| 2009 |
Harley Hotchkiss |
Hat Trick - A Life in the Hockey Rink, Oil Patch and Community
with Paul Grescoe
Dundurn Press |
| 2008 |
Sydney Sharpe |
Staying in the Game - The Remarkable Story of Doc Seaman
Dundurn Press |
| 2007 |
Dick Haskayne |
Northern Tigers: building ethical Canadian corporate champions: a memoir and a manifesto
with Paul Grescoe
Key Porter Books, 320 p. |
| 2006 |
Christina Burr |
Canada’s Victorian Oil Town – The transformation of
Petrolia from Resource Town into a Victorian Community
Queen’s
University Press, 295 p. |
| 2005 |
Sandy Gow |
Roughnecks, rock bits and rigs: the evolution of oil well
drilling technology in Alberta, 1883-1970
University of Calgary Press, 451 p. |
| 2004 |
Paul Chastko |
Developing Alberta's Oil Sands - From Karl Clark to Kyoto |
| 2003 |
Paul Rubak |
Big Wheels Across the Prairie – A History of
trucking in Alberta prior to 1960 |
| 2002 |
Peter C. Newman |
Continental Reach - The Westcoast Energy story
|
| 2001 |
Frank Dabbs |
Branded by the Wind - The Life and Times of Bill Herron |
| 2000 |
Fred Stenson |
The Last Stack: Entrepreneurism and the Environment |
| 1999 |
Bryce Cameron |
Under Sand, Sea and Ice |
| 1998 |
Gary May |
Hard Oiler!: The Story of Early Canadians' Quest for Oil at Home and Abroad
Information and ordering at Dundurn Press - https://www.dundurn.com/books/Hard-Oiler |
| 1997 |
Penelope Grey and Laura Krowchuk |
Spirit of Success - the Sproule Story |
| 1996 |
Neil Leeson |
Oil Patch Jeopardy: Torn in the U.S.A. |
| 1995 |
Beverley Jones |
High Heels 'n' Oil Rigs |
| 1994 |
Aubrey Kerr |
Redwater |
Top
Article of the Year |
| |
Recipient |
Achievement |
| 2023 |
Adam Lajeunesse and P. Whitney Lackenbauer |
For “Shipping Along the Northwest Passage: a Historical Overview”
Published as: Chapter 4 in: Bartenstein, K. and Chircop, A. (eds). Shipping in Inuit Nunangat.
Brill Nijhoff Publishers |
| 2022 |
Colleen Inglis |
For “Early Refineries in Lambton County”
Published in Oil-industry History
V. 23, no. 1 |
| 2021 |
Tim Kiladze and Jeffrey Jones |
“The Mysterious Case of Encana"
Published in the Globe and Mail Report on Business Magazine V.37 No.5 (May) |
| 2020 |
Sean Kheraj |
A History of Oil Spills on Long-Distance Pipelines in Canada
Published in The Canadian Historical Review, v. 101, pp. 161-191. |
| 2019 |
Hereward Longley |
Conflicting Interests: Development Politics and Environmental Regulation
of the Alberta Oil Sands Industry, 1970-1980
Published in: “Environment and History”
by the White Horse Press |
| 2018 |
Ruth W. Sandwell |
The Coal-Oil Lamp
Published In: “Agricultural History” V. 92, No. 2 (Artifacts In Agraria),
Pp. 190-209 |
| 2017 |
Jonathan Peyton |
Industry for the Future: Dome Petroleum and the Afterlives of "Aggressive" Development
Published in Unbuilt Environments - Tracing Postwar Development in Northwest British Columbia
University of British Columbia Press, pp.113-135 |
| 2016 |
S. George Pemberton, James A. MacEachern and Murray K. Gingras |
An Iconic Professor: The Life of Charles Richard Stelck O.C., Ph.D., F.R.S.C., P.Geol. (May 20, 1917 - May 14, 2016)
Published in Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology, V.64, No.4, PP. 495-515
|
| 2015 |
Graham D. Taylor |
Under (Canadian) Cover: Standard Oil (NJ) and the International Petroleum Company in Peru and Columbia, 1914-1918
Published online in Management and Organizational History, Volume 10, Issue 2, 2015 (requires subscription or purchase) |
| 2014 |
Historical Society of Alberta |
Alberta History magazine’s Spring 2014 issue, v. 62, no. 2
Entitled “Discovery of Oil at Turner Valley 1914-2014” |
| 2013 |
Dan Masterson |
The Arctic Islands Adventure and Panarctic Oils Ltd.
Published in Cold Regions Science and Technology, No.85 (2013), pp.1-14 |
| 2012 |
Paul Chastko |
Anonymity and Ambivalence: The Canadian and American Oil Industries and the Emergence of Continental Oil
Published in The Journal of American History
Volume 99, No.1, PP.166-176
online at http://jah.oxfordjournals.org/content/99/1/166.full |
| 2011 |
Peter Mckenzie-Brown
Robert Bott
Adriana Davies
Gordon Jaremko |
The Hourglass Series: Reflections On The Oilsands Oral History Project
Published in Oilsands Review, several issues In 2011 |
| 2010 |
Erik Lizée |
Betrayed: Leduc, Manning, and Surface Rights in Alberta, 1947-1955
published in Prairie Forum, Spring 2010
Vol.35, No.1, pp.77-100 |
| 2009 |
Marcelo Bucheli |
Canadian Multinational Corporations and Economic Nationalism: The Case of Imperial Oil Limited In Alberta (Canada) and Colombia, 1899-1938
published in Entreprises et Histoire
2009, No. 54, pp.67-85 |
| 2008 |
Gary May |
Ontario's Living Dinosaur
published in The Beaver
Vol.88 No.3, pp.34-39 |
| 2007 |
Laura Golebiowski |
Oil Discovery in Turner Valley - Press Reactions
published in Alberta History Magazine, Summer 2007
V.55 No.3 pp.20-27 |
| 2006 |
Tammy Nemeth |
1980: Duel of the decade
published in Alberta Formed – Alberta Transformed
Editors: M. Payne, D. Wetherell, and C. Cavanaugh
University of Alberta
Press/ University of Calgary Press. |
| 2005 |
Judy Larmour |
New Horizons: surveying for the emerging oil and gas
industry
published in: “Laying Down the Lines: a history of land surveying in Alberta”,
Brindle & Glass Publishing, Calgary, pp. 216-240. |
| 2004 |
David Breen |
Atlantic No.3 Disaster - from Raging Inferno to Beacon of Promise, published in Harm's Way - Disasters in Western Canada edited by Anthony Rasporich and Max Foran |
2003 |
Dr. Christina Burr |
Some Adventures of the Boys: Enniskillen Township’s “Foreign Drillers,” Imperialism, and
Colonial Discourse, 1873-1923,
published in Labour, v. 51, Spring 2003 |
| 2002 |
Tammy Nemeth |
Consolidating the Continental Drift: American Influence on
Diefenbaker's National Oil Policy published in the Journal
of the Canadian Historical Association |
| 2001 |
Arn Keeling |
The Rancher and the Regulators: Public Challenges to Sour Gas Industry
Regulations in Alberta, 1970-1994
published in Writing off the Rural West: Globalization, Governments,
and the Transformation of Rural Communities |
| 2000 |
Erin Steuter and Geoff Martin |
The Myth of Competitive Challenge: The Irving Oil Refinery Strike,
1994-96, and the Canadian Petroleum Industry published in Studies
in Political Economy 63 |
| 1999 |
Not awarded |
| 1998 |
Roland Priddle |
Reflections on National Energy Board Regulation 1959 - 1998 |
| 1998 |
Hugh Grant |
Solving the Labour Problem at Imperial Oil |
| 1997 |
Aubrey Kerr |
Historical series in the Reservoir magazine of the Canadian
Society of Petroleum Geologists |
| 1996 |
Not awarded |
| 1995 |
Cal Sikstrom |
Theodore August Link |
| 1994 |
Not awarded |
Top
Multimedia Award |
| |
Recipient |
Achievement |
| 2023 |
Brendan MacDougall |
For the development and promotion of a multifaceted educational program concerning the people, operations and activities of the petroleum industry. |
| 2022 |
ATCO Ltd. |
For the multifaceted celebration of the corporation’s 75th anniversary and the recognition of its manifold accomplishments through publications, the internet and various other media. |
| 2021 |
The Heavy Construction Heritage Society |
For
the preservation and display of machinery historically used in road and other heavy construction and the celebration of the accomplishments of the Canadian construction industry . |
| 2020 |
Peter Tertzakian |
Energyphile – a website encompassing pictures, stories, vignettes and interactive stories related to the evolution of mankind’s use of all forms of energy. |
| 2019 |
Dylan Rhys Howard and
Omar Mouallem |
Producers of "Digging in the Dirt"
Back Road Productions |
| 2018 |
Glenbow Museum |
Their Display Entitled: Mavericks:
An Incorrigible History Of Alberta – Petroleum Section |
| 2017 |
Sandra Sawatzky |
For the Creation of The Black Gold Tapestry |
| 2016 |
Julia Ivanova (Director) and The National Film Board of Canada |
For the movie Limit is the Sky |
| 2015 |
Bernie Brown |
For the creation and widespread marketing of a body of artwork featuring everyday working life in the Canadian oilpatch, its history and its colorful personalities
See http://www.berniebrown.com/ |
| 2014 |
Alberta Culture and Tourism |
Sponsorship of the centennial celebrations for the Turner Valley Oil and Gas Field held on May 14, 2014 in Turner Valley |
| 2013 |
Len Maier |
For the creation of the DVD entitled
Killing the Most Northerly Blowout in the World, 5th edition |
| 2012 |
Not awarded |
|
| 2011 |
The ATCO Museum and Interactive Centre
909 - 11th Avenue SW, Calgary |
For the creation of an educational facility featuring Canadian-based technologies and the history of natural gas and electrical utilities |
| 2010 |
Gasoline Alley Museum, Heritage Park Historical Village |
For the creation of a world-class facility featuring the history of the Canadian petroleum industry |
| 2009 |
Soul of Alberta and Randal Kabatoff |
For creation and marketing of a wide range of products related to the history of the Canadian petroleum industry |
| 2008 |
Museum of the Highwood |
Living in Little Chicago
Dara Murphy - videographer and editor |
| 2007 |
Randal Kabatoff |
Alberta Petroleum Discovery Calendar 2008
published by Soul of Alberta |
| 2006 |
Murray Dale and the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board |
For the
DVD A Salute to the People of the EUB
Q and D Productions Inc. |
2005 |
Pay Dirt Pictures Inc. |
For the film Pay Dirt: Alberta Oil Sands– Centuries in the Making, Calgary.
Available from:
www.filmwest.com
1-888-982-FILM (3456) |
| 2004 |
Corb Lund Band |
Music video The Roughest Neck Around shot at the Canadian Petroleum Interpretive Centre at Devon AB |
| 2003 |
Oil Sands Discovery Centre in Fort McMurray |
Presents the history, science and technology of Alberta's Oil Sands - the world's largest single deposit of oil. |
| 2002 |
Good Earth Productions |
Birth of a Boom - Turner Valley Gas Plant, an episode
of the History Lands "Canada's Heritage Sites" series |
| 2001 |
Petroleum Communication Foundation |
Many excellent publications for public information and education
about the industry, including Our Petroleum Challenge. |
| 2000 |
Historic Sites and Cultural facilities Branch of Cultural Facilities
and Historical Resources Division of Alberta Community Development |
Excellent presentations and tours at the Turner Valley Town Hall
and Gas Plant |
| 1999 |
Gordon Pengilly |
Play Wildcat! |
| 1998 |
Heritage Park |
Gasoline Alley and Cable Tool Rig |
| 1997 |
The Petroleum Club |
Mural by Doug Dreiger |
| 1996 |
Energy Resources Conservation Board |
Energeum |
| 1995 |
Sharon and Stacy Stevens |
Doodlebugs - the Video |
| 1994 |
Multimedia award had not yet been established |
Top
Preservation Award |
| |
Recipient |
Achievement |
| 2023 |
The Okotoks Petroleum Association |
For its initiatives to preserve our knowledge of the history of the Canadian petroleum industry and the display of related artifacts for the education of the public. |
| 2022 |
The Canadian Heritage Photography Foundation |
For the collecting, archiving and display of significant photographic collections that record Canadians at work, our industries and our national accomplishments. |
| 2021 |
Not awarded |
|
| 2020 |
The Petroleum History Institute |
The publication of numerous articles concerning Canadian petroleum history. |
| 2019 |
Rick Green |
The creation and operation of the Canadian Rockies Earth Science Resource Centre in Canmore, Alberta featuring multiple aspects of the history and development of the Canadian petroleum industry |
| 2018 |
Cameron Treleaven |
Facilitating The Preservation Of Books, Other Publications And Related Memorabilia Connected To The History Of The Petroleum Industry Through Various Commercial Avenues Associated With “Aquila Books” store |
| 2017 |
Ian MacGregor |
For facilitating the preservation, interpretation and display of equipment related to the early days of the Canadian Petroleum Industry through the Canadian Museum of Making |
| 2016 |
Oil Museum of Canada, Oil Springs, Ontario |
For facilitating the preservation and understanding of artifacts related to the earliest days of the Canadian petroleum industry through audiovisual presentations, outdoor exhibits, a driving tour and internet-based documentation |
| 2015 |
Calgary Heritage Authority |
For encouraging and supporting the identification, preservation and awareness of historically-significant buildings and land uses in Calgary, including those that have played a role in the evolution of the Canadian petroleum industry |
| 2014 |
Petrolia Discovery Foundation Inc. |
For its initiatives in preserving the historical legacy of the Canadian petroleum industry through the establishment and maintenance of the Petrolia Discovery Oil Museum and related programs at Petrolia, Ontario |
| 2013 |
Oilfield Technical Society |
For its initiatives to preserve the historical legacy of the Canadian petroleum industry through the establishment and maintenance of the OTS Historical Oilfield Equipment Park |
| 2012 |
The Norman Wells Historical Society |
For your efforts to preserve the historical legacy of the petroleum industry in the Norman Wells region, including the CANOL pipeline and trail, through your exhibits and research support at the Norman Wells Historical Centre |
| 2011 |
Charlie Perry and Demille Books |
For the support provided to historical preservation through the sale of books and related merchandise related to Canadian petroleum history |
| 2010 |
Pixcom Group and Discovery Channel |
For capturing the essence of the Canadian upstream drilling industry in the documentary series "Licence to Drill" |
| 2009 |
James Kinnear |
For his support for the recording and publication of Canadian petroleum history through sponsorship of the publications of Aubrey Kerr. |
| 2008 |
Imperial Oil and Robert D. Taylor-Vaisey |
For outstanding achievement in the building of Imperial Oil's corporate archives and ensuring their permanent preservation. |
| 2007 |
Micky Gulless |
For keeping Canadian petroleum history alive through the creation and expansion of the Petroleum History Society website. |
| 2006 |
Anaid Productions Inc. and the Outdoor Life Network |
For “The
Rig”- a thirteen-episode look at life on a modern drilling rig in Alberta. |
2005 |
The Canadian Drilling Rig Museum, Selkirk, Ontario |
| 2004 |
Not awarded |
|
2003 |
Dennis Teskey |
For his initiative in assembling a great collection of Turner Valley-related memorabilia. |
| 2002 |
National Film Board of Canada |
| 2001 |
Evelyn DeMille |
Long term support for publications dealing with the history of
the oil industry at her store, DeMille Technical Books. |
| 2000 |
The Arctic Institute of North America |
Preserving the engineering design and operational experience related
to petroleum exploration and production drilling in the Mackenzie
Delta and the Beaufort Sea |
| 1999 |
Ron Carey |
Long-term dedication to the collection, preservation and display
of oilpatch memorabilia |
| 1998 |
Provincial Archives of Alberta |
Archives in Edmonton |
| 1997 |
Canadian Petroleum Hall of Fame and Leduc-Devon Oilfield
Historical Society |
| 1996 |
National Archives |
Archives in Ottawa |
| 1995 |
Glenbow Library and Archives |
Archives in Calgary |
| 1994 |
PanCanadian Petroleum Limited |
Archives in Calgary |
Top
Lifetime Achievement Award |
| |
Recipient |
| 2023 |
Micky Gulless |
For tremendous dedication to the preservation and communication of the history of the Canadian petroleum industry through numerous aspects of her involvement with the Petroleum History Society including its establishment, its website and its continued operations over four decades. |
| 2022 |
Raymond P. Sorenson |
For dedicated service to the petroleum history community through the compilation of references to the occurrences of petroleum in North America prior to the Drake discovery of 1859. |
| 2021 |
Satinder Chopra |
For dedication in the recording, communicating and preservation of the experiences of those involved in the Canadian geophysical industry as published in the Recorder Magazine of the Canadian Society Of Exploration Geophysicists. |
| 2020 |
Gary May |
Outstanding contributions, through research and publications ,to our understanding of the early history of the petroleum industry in Ontario and its roles in the growth of its global counterparts. |
| 2019 |
Dan Claypool |
For his dedication as a creator of and driver for the Canadian Petroleum Discovery Centre, subsequently the Leduc #1 Energy Discovery Centre, and now the Canadian Energy Museum, as well as for being a critical member of the Leduc/Devon Oilfield Historical Society |
| 2018 |
Randal Kabatoff |
A Prolific Career Including The Publication Of Numerous Editions In
Soul Of Canada’s Comprehensive “Canada’s Petroleum Pioneers” Calendar Series And The Creation Of Montages Featuring Historical Petroleum-Related Photographs |
| 2017 |
Bert MacKay |
For undertaking numerous initiatives related to the preservation and communication of the history of development of Canada's oil sands including the celebration of its numerous pioeering individuals and companies |
| 2016 |
Brian Brennan |
For making numerous contributions to the body of literature concerning the Canadian petroleum industry including many focused on its colourful personalities and significant events |
| 2015 |
Graham Chandler |
For creating numerous contributions to the literature concerning the Canadian petroleum industry including many focussed on its history and evolution |
| 2014 |
Bill Whitelaw |
For Leadership in Preservation, Recognition and Communication related to the History of the Canadian Petroleum Industry |
| 2013 |
Doug Cass |
For excellence in archival preservation, research support and communication related to the history of the Canadian petroleum industry |
| 2012 |
Not awarded |
| 2011 |
Paul Grescoe |
For excellence in research, documentation and communication related to the history of the Canadian petroleum industry |
| 2010 |
Peter McKenzie-Brown |
For excellence in research, documentation and communication related to the history of the Canadian petroleum industry |
| 2009 |
Tammy Nemeth |
For excellence in the documentation and interpretation of Canadian and international energy history |
| 2008 |
Charlie Fairbank |
For his continuing support for the recognition of Ontario's petroleum heritage through preservation, education and communication |
2007
2006
2005 |
Not awarded |
| 2004 |
Fred Stenson |
| 2003 |
Frank Dabbs |
| 2002 |
Robert D. (Bob) Bott |
| 2001 |
Not awarded |
| 2000 |
Gordon Jaremko |
| 1999 |
David Finch |
| 1998 |
Peter Foster |
| 1997 |
Earle Gray |
| 1996 |
David Breen |
| 1995 |
Jack Porter |
| 1994 |
Aubrey Kerr |
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