The Powder River Basin | February 2023
Field Overview
The Powder River Basin, known for its coal deposits, is located in Southeast Montana and Northeast Wyoming. The basin is named so because it is drained by the Powder River. Major cities in the area include Gillette and Sheridan, Wyoming and Miles City, Montana. There is a recent resurgence in oil and gas production as a result of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. This resurgence is occurring mainly in the Wyoming part of the basin, which is historically known as the source of the basin’s oil.
State Drilling Statistics
Total Rigs in Wyoming- 20 (
+2)
Total Rigs in United States- 746 (
-14)
Total U.S. Rigs 13% YTD
State Permitting Data
Permits Approved – 21
Powder River Top Producer
Top Producer – EOG
Basin Highlights
A Q&A with the Powder River Basin Resource Council on Energy Bills that are Up for Debate
There are a number of energy-related bills up for debate in this present legislative session in the State of Wyoming. These bills include a proposed taxation method for solar energy facilities, rare earth mining bills, and most especially, a plan for using a sum of money that was earmarked for litigating against the state of Washington about a canceled coal export facility. The company who proposed the export facility ended up going bankrupt, obviating the need for litigation. This pool of money might soon be brought again into the common pot and there is debate about how it ought to be used in the future.
Seventeen environmental preservationist groups under the leadership of Earthjustice and the Western Environmental Law Center have signed a letter in defense of President Biden’s 2021 move to postpone the sale of several federal oil and gas lease sales. The letter asserts that the industry already has 26 million acres of public mineral estate leased and somewhere around 9,000 federal drilling permits and uses this as an evidence of why lease sales ought not to be continued.
Energy stock evaluators Guru Analysis and Fundamental Analysis have favorably written about the financial and physical asset positioning of Devon Energy. Devon Energy is focused on five core areas: the Delaware Basin, the Eagle Ford, the Anadarko Basin, the Williston Basin, and the Powder River Basin. Within the powder river, they are focused on oily plays in the Turner, Parkman, Teapot, and Niobrara formations.
Most Permit Approvals by Operator
| Rank | Company | Permits Approved |
| 1 | Occidental | 8 |
| 2 | Continental Resources | 4 |
| 3 (Tied) | Devon | 2 |
| 3 (Tied) | Vermillion | 2 |
Top Producers – Oil
| Rank | Company | February Oil Production (MBO) |
| 1 | EOG | 839 |
| 2 | Anschutz Corp | 722 |
| 3 | Continental Resources | 634 |
| 4 | Devon | 570 |
| 5 | Crescent Energy Company | 452 |
Top Producers – Gas
| Rank | Company | January Gas Production (MMCF) |
| 1 | Denbury | 6,921 |
| 2 | EOG | 5,241 |
| 3 | Carbon Creek Energy | 5,184 |
| 4 | Continental Resources | 2,404 |
| 5 | Occidental | 1,666 |
Rig Count
Wyoming Oil Production
Wyoming Gas Production
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www.eia.gov
www.drillinginfo.com
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