Wyoming's Oil & Gas Facts
Oil
In 2023, Wyoming ranked eighth nationally in crude oil production.
Wyoming produced 96.8 million barrels of crude oil in 2023, up from 90.8 million barrels in 2022.
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 740 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 30,000 barrels per stream day.
In 2023, five counties accounted for more than 81% of all oil produced in Wyoming. Those counties are, with percent of state total, Converse County (39.1%), Campbell County (23.5%), Laramie County (9.8%), Park County (4.7%), and Natrona County (4.4%).
Natural Gas
In 2023, Wyoming ranked ninth nationally in natural gas production.
Wyoming produced more than 1.25 billion Mcf (Mcf — 1,000 cubic feet) of natural gas in 2023, down from 1.29 billion Mcf in 2022.
Through 2023, coalbed natural gas wells in the Powder River Basin have cumulatively produced more than 6.71 billion Mcf of gas from shallow Fort Union and Wasatch coals.
Jonah field was discovered in 1975, but most of its development did not begin until 1992 when multi-stage hydraulic fracturing was used by the McMurry Oil Company to release the tight gas. These, and other innovative techniques such as horizontal completions, have since been used to exploit the tight gas and oil from Jonah field and the nearby Pinedale anticline.
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.
In 2023, five counties accounted for more than 85% of all natural gas produced in Wyoming. Those counties are, with percent of state total, Sublette County (49.9%), Sweetwater County (12.0%), Campbell County (9.6%), Converse County (7.8%), and Fremont County (6.2%).
Wyoming's Oil & Gas Reserves
Wyoming had 978 million barrels of proven oil reserves in 2021, which accounted for nearly 2.4 percent of the U.S. total reserves.
As of 2021, Wyoming had an estimated 15,005 billion cubic feet of proven reserves of dry natural gas, or 2.5 percent of total U.S. reserves.
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 data 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, 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 Energy and 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