This remarkable footage shows early onshore drilling in north west London back in 1947.
The footage, by British Pathe, shows a derrick set up in Willesden recreational park.
The narrator describes the well as “London’s first”.
He goes on to say that drilling was aiming for a depth of 4,000 ft.
He adds: “So far there has been no rush of black gold and the London suburb has not yet become another Klondike.”
There is also a special visitor in the Big Smoke, Texan Arthur Rutherford, an American expert, who shows off his high heeled cowboy boots.