PTTC 1st Quarter 2001 Oil and Gas Facts Kansas' oil production is dominated by stripper well production operated by small independent companies. The average Kansas independent produced just over 15,000 barrels of oil in 1999. All ten top producing companies are independents.
Independent operators dominate Kansas' oil production.
The average drilling rig count was only 623 per week in 1999, the lowest since the 1940's. Since 1940 the highest weekly US rig count was 4,530 recorded on December 28, 1981. The lowest rig count of 488 was recorded on April 23, 1999. This is probably near the maximum that our present energy infrastructure of rigs and trained crews can support. In Kansas, average drilling activity reached a historical low of 3 per week in 1999.