Background
The
Hugoton Embayment of southwest Kansas is a premier resource of
natural gas in the United States and the world. The Hugoton Field,
which is only one of the numerous gas and oil fields in the Hugoton
area, is the largest gas field in North America and one of the
largest gas fields in the world. Since 1928, the gas fields of
southwestern Kansas, including Hugoton, Panoma, Bradshaw and
Byerly, have produced over 26 trillion cubic feet of gas. Hugoton
production is a major source of gas and oil for the state and
the nation. In 1997 gas production from the area was 689 billion
cubic feet and represents 92% of total Kansas gas production.
Oil production in 1997 was 8.3 million barrels. This is over
20% of the state's annual oil production. Both Hugoton gas and
oil production have doubled over the last decade. This increased
production is in sharp contrast to the steady production declines
in the rest of the state and nation.
The value of the gas and oil produced in the 14 counties of
southwest Kansas that comprise the Hugoton area exceeds 50% of
the total value of gas and oil produced in the state. The significance
of gas and oil production in the Hugoton area has been increasing,
and the long-term producibility is the best in the state. Gas
and oil production from the Hugoton area of southwest Kansas
is important if not critical to the economic health of the region
and the state. Any enhancement to production in the Hugoton area
helps to maintain the infrastructure necessary for the state's
petroleum industry. The initiative is designed to provide the
knowledge and technical base required for intelligent stewardship,
generation of new opportunities, and continue improvement in
recovery strategies.
Even with this long history of substantial production, there
is no publicly available field-wide study of how best to explore,
produce, and regulate gas and oil in the Hugoton. Little
is known at the field-scale of the fundamental geologic character
of producing rocks, or the way that oil and gas moves or is trapped
in those rocks. The Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) along with
the KU Energy Research Center are organizing a consortium of
local producers, royalty owners, and other interested groups
and individuals to undertake a comprehensive study of the oil
and gas resources of the Hugoton area.
The Hugoton field is the largest natural gas field in North
America and the second largest in the world. The Hugoton is only
one of many gas fields in southwest Kansas that have been important
to Kansas since their development in the 1930's. The major gas
fields of this area--Hugoton, Panoma, Bradshaw, Greenwood, and
Byerly--have produced almost 27 trillion cubic feet of gas (enough
gas to supply every household in Kansas for 364 years, based
on 1994 gas consumption rates). The Hugoton and associated gas
fields are part of a large, bowl--shaped structure that underlies
most of southwest Kansas. This region is referred to as the Hugoton
natural gas area.
Note: Click on Field name to show production for past five
years
This page maintained by the Kansas
Geological Survey.
Updated January 2001
Comments to webadmin@kgs.ku.edu
URL="http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Hugoton/background.html" |