| Reference in text | Source – name | Source – details | Source – link | Retrieved on |
| Oldest known fossils | Cyanobacteria: Fossil Record | Berkeley University, sourced from TN & EL Taylor, The Biology and Evolution of Fossil Plants. Prentice Hall, 1993 | http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/bacteria/cyanofr.html | 12/21/2015 |
| Temperatures at which hydrocarbons form | Basic petroleum geochemistry for source rock evaluation | Kevin McCarthy, Katerine Rojas, Martin Nieman, Daniel Palmowskil, Kenneth Peters, Artur Stankiewicz, published in Oilfield Review Summer 2011: 23, no 2 Copyright ©2011 Schlumberger | http://www.slb.com/~/media/Files/resources/oilfield_review/ors11/sum11/basic_petroleum.pdf | 12/21/2015 |
| Natural processes have been making oil since the Meso-Proterozoic age | Why so much oil in the Middle East | Rasoul Sorkhabi, GeoExPro,vol1, no1, 2010 | http://www.geoexpro.com/articles/2010/01/why-so-much-oil-in-the-middle-east | 12/21/2015 |
| Oldest bitumen in China – 1.4 billion years ago | The oldest oil accumulation in China: Meso-proterozoic Xiamaling Formation bituminous sandstone reservoirs | Liua, Zhonga, Tiand, Qie, Mua, Petroleum Exploration and Development, Volume 38, Issue 4, August 2011, Pages 503–512 | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876380411600505 | 12/21/2015 |
| coal formed in the carboniferous period | The World Coal Association | Commercial Website | http://www.worldcoal.org/coal/what-is-coal/ | 12/21/2015 |
| when was the carboniferous period | The Carboniferous Period | University of California Museum of Paleontology – Jun 2001 | http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/carboniferous/carboniferous.php | 12/21/2015 |
| three to seven feet of plant matter make one foot of bituminous coal | How Coal Is Formed | American coal foundation – Dec 2005 | http://www.ket.org/trips/coal/agsmm/agsmmhow.html | 12/21/2015 |
| brent and WTI are light and sweet | Oil Fundamentals: Crude Oil Grades and Refining Process | Hypervoltility [blog] – Jul 2013 | http://hypervolatility.com/macroeconomics/oil-fundamentals-crude-oil-grades-and-refining-process/ | 12/21/2015 |
| Mars Blend is medium sour | Argus Mars | Argus – undated | http://www.argusmedia.com/Methodology-and-Reference/Key-Prices/Argus-Mars | 12/21/2015 |
| Troll Blend is medium sweet | Crude Oil Search | Statoil – undated | http://www.statoil.com/en/ouroperations/tradingproducts/crudeoil/crudeoilassays/pages/Filter.aspx?k=medium&key=2&s=ENCrudeOil | 12/21/2015 |
| IEA peak of conventional oil | Interview with Fatih Birol | ABC Catalyst show, 28 April 2011 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0ujDVRIzGM | 12/21/2015 |
| Neanderthals used bitumen | Neanderthals Defy Stereotypes | PBS – Sep 2013 | http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/defy-stereotypes.html | 12/21/2015 |
| China – salt factory and first oil well | First Oil Wells | historylines – undated | http://www.historylines.net/history/chinese/oil_well.html | 12/21/2015 |
| China – carburettor | Natural Gas as Fuel | Cultural China – undated | http://kaleidoscope.cultural-china.com/en/10Kaleidoscope3188.html | 12/21/2015 |
| Marco Polo and quote | Peeking at Peak Oil | by Kjell Aleklett, Michael Lardelli, Olle Qvennerstedt, published by Springer, 19 May 2012 | http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=pANooo5WaK8C&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=%E2%80%9CNear+the+Georgian+border+there+is+a+spring+from+which+gushes+a+stream+of+oil,+in+such+abundance+that+a+hundred+ships+may+load+there+at+once.+This+oil+is+not+good+to+eat;+but+it+is+good+for+burning+and+as+a+salve+for+men+and+camels+affected+with+itch+or+scab.+Men+come+from+a+long+distance+to+fetch+this+oil,+and+in+all+the+neighbourhood+no+other+oil+is+burnt+but+this.%E2%80%9D&source=bl&ots=HrHcKIPIoH&sig=i_pVICkW6iU7l51u4yGw4X3hcZE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=55qeU7b_KMOYO4rFgegO&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%E2%80%9CNear%20the%20Georgian%20border%20there%20is%20a%20spring%20from%20which%20gushes%20a%20stream%20of%20oil%2C%20in%20such%20abundance%20that%20a%20hundred%20ships%20may%20load%20there%20at%20once.%20This%20oil%20is%20not%20good%20to%20eat%3B%20but%20it%20is%20good%20for%20burning%20and%20as%20a%20salve%20for%20men%20and%20camels%20affected%20with%20itch%20or%20scab.%20Men%20come%20from%20a%20long%20distance%20to%20fetch%20this%20oil%2C%20and%20in%20all%20the%20neighbourhood%20no%20other%20oil%20is%20burnt%20but%20this.%E2%80%9D&f=false | 12/21/2015 |
| Baku was visited by other travellers | Baku and Oil. The Early Period | Window to Baku – undated | http://www.window2baku.com/eng/9oil1.htm | 12/21/2015 |
| David McKain | The Fascinating Story Of The People And Places Involved In The “Birth” Of The Nation’s Oil & Gas Industry | By David McKain and Bernard Allen, Published by David McKain, no date given | http://oilandgasmuseum.com/Pages/whereitallbegan.html | 12/21/2015 |
| Engineer Alekseyev | Azerbaijan’s Oil History: A Chronology Leading up to the Soviet Era | Azerbaijan international – summer 2002 | http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai102_folder/102_articles/102_oil_chronology.html | 12/21/2015 |
| Branobel | The Branobel History | Centre for Business History, Stockholm – undated | http://www.branobelhistory.com/ | 12/21/2015 |
| Abraham Gesner | Abraham Gesner, 1797-1864 | Canadian Petroleum Hall of Fame, undated | http://www.canadianpetroleumhalloffame.ca/abraham-gesner.html | 12/21/2015 |
| Persians extracted white naphtha from coal and bitumen | CHEMISTRY | Cities of Light, the Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain – undated | http://www.islamicspain.tv/Arts-and-Science/The-Culture-of-Al-Andalus/Chemistry.htm | 12/21/2015 |
| James Young | James Young, Scottish Industrialist and philanthropist | Thesis submitted to the University of Glasgow by John Butt, December 1963 | http://theses.gla.ac.uk/3894/1/1963ButtPhD.pdf | 12/21/2015 |
| Ignacy Lukasiewicz | Oil People: The Godfather of Oil | YoungPetro – May 2013 | http://youngpetro.org/2013/05/30/the-godfather-of-oil/ | 12/29/2015 |
| Samuel Kier | Samuel Kier – Medicine Man & Refiner | OIl150 – Feb 2007 | http://www.oil150.com/essays/article?article_id=68 | 12/21/2015 |
| Vaseline | The Vaseline Story | Vaseline – undated | http://www.vaseline.co.uk/en-GB/Carouselff0b.html?Path=Consumer/AboutUs/History | 12/21/2015 |
| Bissel, Silliman | How Yale Launched the Oil Economy | Yale Alumni Magazine – Nov / Dec 2005 | http://archives.yalealumnimagazine.com/issues/2005_11/old_yale.html | 12/21/2015 |
| Edwin Drake | Edwin Drake | Who made America – undated | http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/drake_hi.html | 12/21/2015 |
| Oil Springs, Ontario | The Village of Oil Springs | Community Website | http://oilsprings.ca/about/ | 12/21/2015 |
| The Battle of Baku | World War II: Battle for Baku | Historynet (from Military History Magazine) – Jun 2006 | http://www.historynet.com/world-war-i-battle-for-baku.htm | 12/21/2015 |
| Operation countenance | A grinding war against Iran | Boundless – undated | https://www.boundless.com/u-s-history/from-isolation-to-world-war-ii-1930-1943/the-end-of-the-war/a-grinding-war-against-iran/ | 12/21/2015 |
| Battle of Yenangyaung | Rising Thunder – Battle 3 | Forgottenhonor – undated | http://www.forgottenhonor.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=108 | 12/21/2015 |
| Gesner quote | Abraham Pineo Gesner | Wikipedia – Nov 2015 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Pineo_Gesner | 12/21/2015 |
| First oil well in the UK, Duke of Devonshire mineral rights, the American Roughnecks of Sherwood forest | Dukes Wood oil museum | Dukes wood oil museum – undated | http://www.dukeswoodoilmuseum.co.uk/index.htm | 12/21/2015 |
a portfolio of interests
Michelle Spaul 