Merkwiller-Pechelbronn
Encyclopedia
Merkwiller-Pechelbronn is a commune
in the Bas-Rhin
department in Alsace
in north-eastern France
.
It is notable as the original home of oil sands
mining.
Oil sands were mined from 1745 in Merkwiller-Pechelbronn, initially under the direction of Louis Pierre Ancillon de la Sablonnière
, by special appointment of Louis XV. The Pechelbronn oil field was active until 1970, and was the birthplace of companies like Antar
and Schlumberger
. The first modern oil sands refinery was built there in 1857; and it also had the first school of oil technology.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin is a department of France. The name means "Lower Rhine". It is the more populous and densely populated of the two departments of the Alsace region, with 1,079,013 inhabitants in 2006.- History :...
department in Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
in north-eastern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
It is notable as the original home of oil sands
Tar sands
Bituminous sands, colloquially known as oil sands or tar sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. The sands contain naturally occurring mixtures of sand, clay, water, and a dense and extremely viscous form of petroleum technically referred to as bitumen...
mining.
Oil sands were mined from 1745 in Merkwiller-Pechelbronn, initially under the direction of Louis Pierre Ancillon de la Sablonnière
Louis Pierre Ancillon de la Sablonnière
In 1745 Louis Pierre Ancillon de la Sablonnière established the Pechelbronn bitumen mine at Merkwiller-Pechelbronn, Bas-Rhin, Alsace.He was an interpreter with the French ambassador to Switzerland, then the General Treasurer of the Ligues Suisses and Grisons....
, by special appointment of Louis XV. The Pechelbronn oil field was active until 1970, and was the birthplace of companies like Antar
Antar (company)
Antar is a former petroleum company, founded by Pechelbronn SA in 1927 in Merkwiller-Pechelbronn, Bas-Rhin, Alsace. However, its origins go back to 1745 when a company was formed to develop the natural oil wells in the vicinity of Merkwiller-Pechelbronn. Prior to World War II it also used the...
and Schlumberger
Schlumberger
Schlumberger Limited is the world's largest oilfield services company. Schlumberger employs over 110,000 people of more than 140 nationalities working in approximately 80 countries...
. The first modern oil sands refinery was built there in 1857; and it also had the first school of oil technology.