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The fascinating story of Scotland's shale oil industry
The Scottish shale oil industry has an interesting and significant history.
Bathgate works, established in 1851, was perhaps the first site in the world where mineral oils were processed on an industrial scale. From this blossomed an extensive oil industry that competed successfully against cheaper imported petroleum for many years, and continued in operation until 1962. Such fierce competition bred innovation, progress, and a body of Scots know-how that contributed greatly towards the development of the oil industry throughout the world.
This website is being developed to celebrate, exchange knowledge, and encourage research into this special heritage. We hope that the resource will be of particular value to those researching family histories.
Genealogy
Research resources for family historians
Employment records
A database of surviving records.
Trades and occupations
Descriptions of working life in the industry.
Notable personalities
Inventors, entrepreneurs, and worthies.
Gazetteer
Records of sites associated with the shale oil industry
Oil works and refineries
Covering all parts of Scotland.
Company housing and villages
Throughout the oil-shale districts.
Mines, pits and quarries
Throughout the oil-shale districts.
Histories
Original papers offering an introduction to the industry
An introduction to shale oil
Its history, technology and geology.
Company histories
Information files on each oil company.
Your research and reminicences
Contributions from independent authors.
Collections
Catalogue of objects and archives held here and elsewhere.
Museum collection
The Scottish shale oil industry collection.
BP archive
Company records now held by our museum.
Reference collection
Copy images and documents.
Collections survey
Other museum collections, surveyed 2009.
Library
Research resources available on-line
Pamphlets and publications
Archive publications as digital books.
Oral histories
Transcripts of interviews conducted 1983-90.
Transcripts and notes
Extracts from newspapers and magazines.
Learning and sharing
Resources for schools and research noticeboard
Schools pages
Become a Shale Oil Explorer.
Essays and exhibitions
Presentations on the shale oil story.
Noticeboard
Share your research enquiries and interests.
About us
Almond Valley is a family-friendly museum established in 1990 to preserve and interpret the history and environment of West Lothian. It also continues the work of an oil museum research project which, since 1983, had collected objects and archives associated with the shale industry.
Much of the collection is now displayed in The Scottish Shale Oil Museum; one of a range of educational and leisure facilities at Almond Valley, close to Livingston, West Lothian.
For further information on a great day out at Almond Valley visit our main web site.
We are a member of Industrial Museums Scotland and Oil Museums in Europe.
Latest progress
May 2013
- Oral history transcripts are being added to the Library pages
- Our volunteers have begun work to increase the number of images available to view on our Museum Collection pages
- Oral history transcripts and company reports added to the Library pages
- Additional company AGM transcripts added to the Library section
- Additional information included in the Companies pages
- Extended accident records
- Work on the gazetteer section is focused on improving entries for the larger oil works, incorporating larger maps, and plans showing bings and associated mineral railways.