Emsland Ölfeld-Erkundung und Rotary-Bohrturmbetrieb, Bentheimer Sandstein

On March 23, 1942, the Lingen 2 well west of the Ems River struck crude oil—the first ton ever extracted in the Emsland region. Five years earlier, the same marshland area had been surveyed using reflection seismics. The Lingen oil field was part of the Bentheim Sandstone formation at a depth of approximately 800 to 850 meters—one of Germany's heaviest crude oils, which could not be piped without heating. By 1943, three fields had been developed: Lingen, Emlichheim, and Georgsdorf. Until 1953, the Emsland refinery in Holthausen processed all of the Emsland crude oil on site. A total of approximately 2.4 million tons of crude oil were extracted from the Lingen field until its closure in 1997. This channel documents how oil in Germany was extracted, transported, and processed between 1900 and 1980—through the decisions of the people who built and operated these systems. No simplified overview. No nostalgia. Just what the archives show. #CrudeOilProduction #BentheimSandstone #Emsland #1940s #IndustrialHistory #GermanOilIndustry #Documentation