Drake drilled the well to secure a greater supply for the Seneca oil company. The drilling technology was not particularly revolutionary, since water wells and wells to pump salt brine had been previously drilled.

The key technology was fractional distillation of petroleum into an array of useful products, especially kerosene which could be used instead of whale oil for illumination.

How Yale Launched the Oil Economy - http://archives.yalealumnimagazine.com/issues/2005_11/old_ya...