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Learn About Oil & Gas Production

Data from state Railroad Commissions, explained simply. No jargon. No fluff. Just the facts about how oil and gas is found, drilled, and measured.

State: All States Texas Oklahoma New Mexico North Dakota Colorado Louisiana Wyoming Alaska California Pennsylvania West Virginia Utah Kansas Montana Ohio Michigan Mississippi Arkansas Illinois
Topic: All Topics Production Basins Regulation Glossary
Ohio production

Ohio Oil and Gas: The Utica Shale Boom

Ohio has been producing oil and gas for over 150 years. The state was one of the earliest oil producers in the country, with production beginning in the 1860s — just a few years after Edwin Drake's fa…

Mar 25, 2026 Read More
Montana production

Montana Oil and Gas: Williston Basin and BOGC

Montana is a large state with a relatively small oil industry compared to Texas or North Dakota — but it shares some of the same geology. Eastern Montana sits over the western edge of the Williston Ba…

Mar 24, 2026 Read More
Utah production

Utah Oil and Gas: Uinta Basin and DOGM

Utah may not be the first state that comes to mind when you think about oil production, but it is a consistent and significant producer. The state pumps roughly 100,000 to 120,000 barrels of oil per d…

Mar 22, 2026 Read More
West Virginia production

Oil and Gas in West Virginia

West Virginia has one of the longest histories of oil and gas production of any state. Drillers were producing oil here in the 1860s, just a few years after Edwin Drake's famous well in neighboring Pe…

Mar 21, 2026 Read More
Pennsylvania production

Pennsylvania: Where U.S. Oil Was Born

The U.S. oil industry was born in Pennsylvania. On August 27, 1859, Edwin Drake drilled the first successful commercial oil well in Titusville, a small town in the northwestern part of the state. That…

Mar 20, 2026 Read More
California production

California Oil Production and CalGEM

Most people think of technology companies or farmland when they think of California. But California has been an oil-producing state since the 1860s. It still produces roughly 300,000 barrels of oil pe…

Mar 19, 2026 Read More
North Dakota regulation

What Is the North Dakota Industrial Commission?

Every oil well drilled in North Dakota has to answer to one agency: the North Dakota Industrial Commission, or NDIC. This is the state body that regulates all oil and gas activity in North Dakota. It …

Mar 18, 2026 Read More
Wyoming production

Oil and Gas Production in Wyoming

Wyoming is a big state with a big energy industry. It consistently ranks in the top five states for oil production and the top three for natural gas. With a small population but enormous land area, Wy…

Mar 17, 2026 Read More
Louisiana regulation

How Louisiana Regulates Oil and Gas

Louisiana is one of the most important oil and gas states in the United States. It has offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, onshore fields across the coastal plain, and deep natural gas reserves …

Mar 16, 2026 Read More
North Dakota production

How Much Oil Does North Dakota Produce?

North Dakota is one of the biggest oil-producing states in America. The state pumps about 1.1 million barrels of oil every day. That puts it third in the country, behind Texas and New Mexico. Twenty y…

Mar 11, 2026 Read More

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