What is the geographic distribution of oil and gas production in Kansas?

The stratigraphic distribution of oil and gas has a strong influence on the geographic distribution of production. Oil production is distributed throughout the geologic column and as a result is scattered through the state. Of the 105 counties in Kansas 95 have reported oil production at some time in the past. In 1994, at least some oil production was reported from 89 counties The top ten counties ranked on 1994 production showed some changes from 1992 (Table 1). Two counties in southwest Kansas, Seward and Haskell, rose in the rankings and Graham County on the central Kansas uplift dropped out of the top ten.

Table 1.--Top ten oil producing counties in Kansas. Production in 1994 from the top ten counties amounted to 21.7 million barrels, 46% of the state's total. 


Rank   Rank	
 94     92     County    Barrels of Oil    % of total
-------------------------------------------------------
 1      1      Ellis      3,213,196          6.8
 2      2      Finney     2,820,800          6.0
 3      3      Russell    2,647,054          5.6
 4      4      Rooks      2,176,130          4.6
 5      5      Barton     2,012,060          4.3
 6      9      Seward     1,939,186          4.1
 7      6      Ness       1,889,109          4.0
 8      7      Butler     1,847,366          3.9
 9      8      Stafford   1,593,086          3.4
10      *      Haskell    1,525,240          3.2
* not in top ten producing counties in 1992

However the top ten producing counties remain scattered throughout the state, occurring on the Central Kansas uplift (Ellis, Russell, Rooks, Barton, and Stafford), the Nemaha uplift (Butler), and the Hugoton embayment (Finney, Seward, Ness, and Haskell). Counties showing 93 to 94 increases in production are concentrated in western Kansas, within and along the margins of the Hugoton embayment.

The largest year to year increase was reported in Haskell County (367 MBO), followed in descending order by Stanton (320 MBO), Seward (271 MBO), Kearny (121 MBO) and Wallace (99 MBO) counties. The increases can in large part be attributed to the recent discoveries in the "Deep Hugoton" coming into production (e.g., Big Bow West Field a 1993 discovery that had a 93-94 increase of 220 MBO).

The largest year-to-year decreases in production by county were reported from western Kansas and along the Central Kansas uplift, with Grant County recording the biggest drop (218 MBO). Ellis County was followed in diminishing magnitude of production decrease by Morton, Stafford, Rooks, and Russell counties.

The bulk of Kansas gas production is concentrated in the Permian interval of the Hugoton embayment (Chase and Council Grove Groups). The result is that the nine counties in the extreme southwestern corner of Kansas are the top 9 producing counties and account for over 89% of 1993 annual production (Table 2). This is a continuation of the trend of increased concentration of Kansas gas production from the Hugoton and associated fields.

Table 2.--Top ten gas producing counties in Kansas. Production in 1993 from the top ten counties amounted to 90.3% of the state's total. 


Rank     County     BCF of Gas   % of total
--------------------------------------------
 1.      Stevens   148,847,312     21.9
 2.      Grant     111,905,007     16.5
 3.      Kearny     87,808,203     12.9
 4.      Morton     60,804,491      8.9
 5.      Finney     47,915,273      7.1
 6.      Haskell    46,244,859      6.9
 7.      Seward     42,955,225      6.3
 8.      Stanton    42,674,212      6.3
 9.      Hamilton   13,327,235      2.0
 10.     Barber     11,491,007      1.7
In 1993, gas production from the Hugoton field increased to over 404 BCF/year from 385 BCF/year in 1992 (4.7% increase). This increase is a continuation of significant increases in Hugoton gas production since 1982 (Figure 4). On a county basis, the biggest year-to-year increase was reported from Stevens County (18 BCF). The largest year-to-year decrease in production was recorded from Hamilton County (1.3 BCF).

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