In 1996, Missouri produced 115,000 barrels of oil. Not much by most standards and less than half of what the state produced in recent years due to the crude price collapse of the late 1980s. Virtually all the gas produced in the state is used for domestic consumption. Presently, oil production is situated in the west-central region, the extreme northwestern corner and in the St. Louis area. Producing depths range from less than 100 feet near Nevada in Vernon County to 2800-foot deep Viola production in the Runamuck Field in Atchison County.
Gas is produced in the western portion of the state from shallow Pennsylvanian sandstones.
During the early 1980s enhanced recovery techniques were successfully applied in several oil reservoirs in west central Missouri. This is a region of thick Cherokee fluvial-deltaic reservoirs containing large reserves of heavy crude oil. About thirty years ago several major oil companies established experimental steam and in-situ combustion projects in this area, the results of which have been documented in the literature. The more recent ventures have involved polymer water-flooding, steam and inert gas injection. The primary drawback for future development lies in the relative remoteness of the region.