Wells were "shot" to increase production. Martin Woodward, a Petrolia oilman, explained the reason to the Royal Commission on the Mineral Resources of Ontario in 1890.
When wells are put down now they don't seem to have the same pressure as in the early days. Formerly, in some cases, there were large flows; now the oil hardly flows at all, and when the new wells are put down it is usual to shoot them with a charge of nitroglycerine. That is done for the purpose of opening up the rock.
The Imperial Oil Review of 1940 described the method used: A torpedo loaded with nitroglycerine was lowered into a well near the pumping house. When all was ready, a fuse, called the "devil squib" was ignited and dropped in. Every man waited breathlessly for the result. It seemed an age. Then there was the muffled sound of an explosion, followed by a geyser of rock, water, dirt and oil which shot into the air above the derrick. This was voted a great success by the onlookers.
