B & S Publications Inc. was started by Robert (Bob) Elias. His association with the oil & gas industry began in 1950 with McColl-Frontenac Oil Company Limited (Texaco), where he attained the position of manager of land operations in Canada. In 1965 he organized three successful junior resource companies. In 1968, in addition to land consulting, he started the Petroleum LAND JOURNAL which listed available oil and gas rights for disposition by subscribing companies. Over several years, a substantial database was established on companies that carried out exploration and development in western Canada.

The Oil & Gas INDEX was started in 1987 with the extensive research on Explorers and Producers, including corporate searches to verify proper registered names from the Land Journal. To date, there are over 40,000 corporate searches on file. This research was also the startup to track mergers, name changes and dispositions of companies, thus providing an historical link.

As such, the Oil & Gas INDEX has earned the enviable and unmistakable reputation as the most reliable and leading source of data on Explorers and Producers in western Canada.