Oil & Gas Resources
Oil & Gas Basins
Maps & Publications
Oil & Gas Facts
Wyoming's Oil & Gas Facts
Oil
- In 2021, Wyoming ranked eighth nationally in crude oil production.
- Wyoming produced 85.43 million barrels of crude oil in 2021, down from 89.06 million barrels in 2020.
- The Mike Murphy #1 well was the first oil well drilled in Wyoming. It was drilled in 1884 next
to a natural oil seep and was the discovery well for the Dallas field, which is still an active
oil field today.
- Since its 1889 discovery, Salt Creek field has produced more than 735 million barrels of oil from its estimated 1,680 million barrels of oil originally in place.
- Quealy field was the first field in the Rocky Mountain region to be discovered using seismic
methods. The California Company used reflection seismic surveys to delineate the Quealy Dome
anticline and drilled the first productive well in Quealy field in 1934.
- The first refinery in Wyoming was built in Casper and began processing crude oil in 1895. It had an initial
capacity of 50–100 barrels of oil per day. In comparison, Casper’s modern-day Little America refinery has a
total operable capacity of 25,500 barrels per stream day.
- In 2021, 92 percent of the approved oil well permits in Wyoming were for horizontal wells.
To view the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission's state oil production graph, click here.
Natural Gas
- In 2021, Wyoming ranked ninth nationally in natural gas production.
- Wyoming produced more than 1.37 billion Mcf (Mcf — 1,000 cubic feet) of natural gas in 2021, down from 1.47 billion Mcf in 2020.
- Through 2021, coalbed natural gas wells in the Powder River Basin have cumulatively produced more than 6.6 billion Mcf of gas from shallow Fort Union and Wasatch coals.
- Jonah field was discovered in 1975, but most of the development of the field did not begin until 1992 when multi-stage hydraulic fracturing was used by the McMurry Oil
Company to release the tight gas. These innovative techniques were then used to exploit the tight gas and oil from the nearby Pinedale anticline in the late 1990s.
- The Rocky Mountain completion depth record was set by the Bighorn 1-5 (API 49-013-21362). This
well was completed between 23,758 and 23,902 feet in the Madison Limestone and had an initial
production rate of 20,000 Mcf of gas per day. The subsequent Bighorn 2-3 well (API 49-013-21510) was
completed between 23,579 and 23,852 feet in the Madison with an initial production rate of 38,000 Mcf
of gas per day. These two wells established the deepest commercial gas production in the Rocky
Mountain region as part of the Madden field.
- The LaBarge-Shute Creek treating facility processes gas from wells within the Madison Limestone.
This gas is rich in carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen sulfide, and commercial quantities of
helium. Excess carbon dioxide is transported via pipeline to the Rangely field in northern Colorado
and several fields in Wyoming for enhanced oil recovery operations.
To view the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission's state gas production graph, click here.
Wyoming's Oil & Gas Reserves
- Wyoming had 703 million barrels of proven oil reserves in 2020, which accounted for nearly 2 percent of the U.S. total reserves.
- Wyoming had an estimated 12,484 billion cubic feet of proven reserves of dry natural gas, or 2.8 percent of the U.S. total, as of 2020.
Oil & Gas Prices
For information on historical, current, and future prices, please refer to the following:
Oil & Gas FAQ
- ►How do I obtain information on oil or gas wells drilled in Wyoming?
- All oil and gas well information is maintained in a database by the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (WOGCC). The database is accessible at the WOGCC website.
- ►Who regulates the oil and gas exploration and production industry?
- Drilling and production on Wyoming State Lands and on private lands are regulated by the WOGCC. Drilling on federal land is regulated primarily by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management or the U.S. Forest Service.
- ►I own property in Wyoming with mineral rights. How can I learn if oil, gas, or other minerals may be on my land?
- The WSGS is not in a position to evaluate properties. However, there are many consulting geologists throughout the state that can help answer this question. Consulting geologists can be found locally or often advertise in the newsletter published by the Wyoming Geological Association. Certified professional geologists are licensed by the Wyoming Board of Professional Geologists and a list is maintained at their website.
- ►I hear so much about “fracking” in the news but don’t really understand what it is. Where can I find more information?
- Fracking is another term used for "hydraulic fracturing.” Hydraulic fracturing involves pumping a mixture of water, proppant (sand or artificial material), and chemicals under very high pressure into an oil or gas reservoir to create a network of connected fractures that increases hydrocarbon production.
More information on hydraulic fracturing can be found on websites by the
Association of American State Geologists,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
the Watershed Council,
Geological Society of America,
and American Petroleum Institute.
- ►Is there a repository for cores and/or cuttings in Wyoming?
- No. All publicly available cores and cuttings for Wyoming (as well as other states) are stored either at the USGS Core Research Center in Lakewood, Colorado or at the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology in multiple locations in Texas. Contact these agencies for more information.
- ►Do you have any information on historical oil production in Wyoming?
- WyoHistory.org published an article on “The Oil Business in Wyoming” by Phil Roberts detailing how oil production in Wyoming began and evolved.
The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission maintains scans of individual well production prior to 1978 in their database.
- ►Where can I find more information on statistics for Wyoming’s oil and gas industry?
- Further information on oil and gas statistics, including production, prices, and more, can be obtained from the following downloads or website:
- ►What other agencies might have useful Wyoming oil and gas information?
-
- Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (WOGCC)—permits oil and gas wells and maintains production, injection, and sales data in their database
- Department of Geology and Geophysics—University of Wyoming
- Department of Petroleum Engineering—University of Wyoming
- Wyoming Energy Authority—provides strategy, collaboration, and support for Wyoming’s entire energy portfolio
- Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute (EORI)—University of Wyoming institute that works toward enhanced oil recovery in Wyoming oil fields
- Petroleum Association of Wyoming (PAW)—petroleum industry trade association
- School of Energy Resources (SER)—based at the University of Wyoming and focusing on energy-related education, research, and outreach
- Wyoming Bureau of Land Management (BLM)—10 field offices regulate drilling on BLM land
- Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)—works with Wyoming’s air, land, and water resources
- Wyoming Geological Association (WGA)—association for all geological interests, many consulting geologists advertise through the WGA
- Wyoming Office of State Lands and Investments—manages Wyoming State Lands, including oil and gas leases on these lands
Contact:
Rachel Toner, rachel.toner@wyo.gov
Derek Lichtner, derek.lichtner@wyo.gov