Martin J. Woodward

The International Drillers contributed to many different aspects of opening oil fields and were not solely focused on drilling oil wells. M.J. Woodward was responsible for building the first refinery on the island of Borneo which was also the largest refinery in the world, at the time.

After a brief period in Pennsylvania, and in the lumber business in Bothwell, Ontario, Woodward came to Petrolia in 1867 and soon became one of the largest oil producers in the town. Many oil producers were also refiners and Woodward followed the trend, opening his first refinery in Petrolia in 1870. In 1884, there were nine refineries operating in Petrolia and Woodward's was the third largest with 2,212 barrels of oil refined in October of that year. He continued to operate successfully until oil prices dropped in the early 1890s, and Woodward was forced to declare bankruptcy.

The Shell Transportation Company of London took note of his experience building and running refineries and commissioned him to draw up plans for a 5-million barrel refinery to be constructed in Borneo, despite the fact that the company had yet to find a reliable source of oil in that region. Just as Woodward was completing his plans for the refinery, the company discovered oil and had Woodward's equipment manufactured in England.

In 1897, Woodward departed to accompany his equipment to Borneo and to supervise the construction of the refinery near Balikpapan. At the time, Balikpapan was only a small fishing village and the area set out for the refinery was located on an uninhabited part of the coast. Woodward had to clear an area out of the jungle, build his own wharves, and devise a way of getting the equipment off of the ship and onto the shore.

Woodward supervised a crew of 1,000 Chinese men who worked for about 10 cents per day to build the refinery and bring it into operation, a task which took four years. Woodward remained in Borneo for a little while to run the refinery but soon returned to Canada due to his failing health. He returned to the international oil fields soon after to inspect the oil fields in Russia.

In 1906, Woodward moved to Chanute, Kansas where he worked as the superintendent of the Kansas Co-Operative Refining Company until his death in 1912.