Brief history of oil (petroleum)

Intro
I say too much. Maybe, rather, I say so much. I become deeply interested in topics others haven't or it takes me a lot of work (writing or talking) to work through some topics that others 'just get'. Maybe because I'm still influenced my earliest years as a 'real' adult' were

Oil Seeps

"While my guitar weeps"

La Brea has always fascinated and confused me. Oil needs wells, derricks, and general hard work to get. It also just forms puddles on the ground all on it's own??
Wikipedia let me know about the transition to asphalt from oil ---- I no longer need to wonder how an asphalt pit can relate to my confusion on oil weeps, oops, seeps:

"Tar pits are composed of heavy oil fractions called gilsonite, which seeped from the Earth as oil. In Hancock Park, crude oil seeps up along the 6th Street Fault from the Salt Lake Oil Field, which underlies much of the Fairfax District north of the park. The oil reaches the surface and forms pools at several locations in the park, becoming asphalt as the lighter fractions of the petroleum biodegrade or evaporate."

How did the mideast oil drama start?

This has been one of my large curiosities for quite a bit of time. It hasn't helped that phrases such as 'oil wasn't discovered in Saudi Arabia until 1927' are often found. I took that literally until I started learning about the details of T.E. Lawrence's work during WWI. During WWI, Britain had access to oil (from Persia - in the Zagros Mountains and other locations). Russia had a supply from the Baku