A Wheatley man is currently producing a documentary about the history of oil in Chatham-Kent and Lambton County.
Alex Petrovich is close to wrapping up his three-part series called 'Oil Made Kings Here.'
The Windsor native moved to Wheatley three years ago, and after a short time in the community, he decided he had to make a documentary about the area.
"There were so many stories, just incredible, incredible stuff," said Petrovich.
He ended up making a three-part documentary called 'Wheatley From Fish to Flame.' It was when he was producing the final part, which covered the 2021 explosion, that he started wondering what the history of oil production in the area was since there were so many abandoned wells.
It took just a bit of research for Petrovich to realize that the history needed to be told.
Instead of just focusing on Wheatley, Petrovich decided to travel across CK and Lambton County. He specifically visited Chatham, Tilbury, Bothwell, Blenheim, Erieau, and Petrolia.
Oil Springs, the location of Canada's first commercial oil well, is also prominent in the documentary.
A big focus will also be on the Chatham Sag, a large depression across CK.
"Through time, oil started to naturally seep into that. All of this stuff started to happen millions and millions of years ago," explained Petrovich.
While some may think history like this is interesting, for Petrovich, it's nothing short of overwhelming in a profound way.
"Human beings, 150 years ago, figured out how to dig into the ground and pull something prehistoric out of the ground and into present time and use that prehistoric energy source to kick-start the modern world," he added.
The documentary is nearing the end of production. Petrovich expects it to be ready in early 2027, with the hope being to sell it to a streaming service.
