The Powder River Basin | June 2022
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 Gillete 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- 19 (
+1)
Total Rigs in United States – 756 (+16)
Total U.S. Rigs 56% YTD
State Permitting Data
Permits Approved – 30
Powder River Top Producer
Top Producer by Oil – EOG
Top Producer by Gas – Carbon Creek
Basin Highlights
VP of Petroleum Association of Wyoming Responds
The Biden administration’s letter to industry was met with mixed emotions, but Ryan McConnaughey was not pleased. The Vice President of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming was quick to point out that oil and gas companies are not setting the price, but rather policy has restricted meaningful production and processing. He rebuked Biden’s accusations of refineries gouging Americans by processing less. “Nationwide refining capacity is something like 93%, so when you’re running that high at utilization, that is a weak argument,” he said. “They are operating now at about as close to max as you can get. Last we saw for our region — Colorado, Wyoming and Utah — we were running almost at 99 percent capacity.” This is just one of many individuals who posted public replies to the presidential letter.
EPA Changes Stance on Good Neighbor Policies
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, states that contribute more than 1% of the chemicals that make up downwind states’ ground ozone may soon be subject to federal emissions limitations known as the “Good Neighbor” policy. Wyoming only had Colorado listed as a downwind state despite general wind directions leading more to Kansas and Nebraska than the polluted skies of Denver. Even the Petroleum Association of Wyoming recognized the absurdity in the EPA enforcing the same emission laws between Wyoming and California when Cali’s winds send 42 times more smog ingredients to other states than Wyoming’s. The EPA found it inappropriate to impose good neighbor emission policies in 2015, but it seems the new administration has different plans.
Operators With Most Permits in WY
| Rank | Company | Permits Approved |
| 1 | Wexpro Company | 12 |
| 2 | Anschutz Exploration | 7 |
| 3 | Ultra Resources | 5 |
| 4 | Devon Energy | 3 |
| 5 | Hudson | 1 |
Top Producers Oil
| Change | Rank | Company | mmbbls Production (Jan-Feb/22) |
| +4 | 1 | EOG | 1.79 |
| – | 2 | Devon Energy | 1.09 |
| – | 3 | Chesapeake Operating | 1.08 |
| – | 4 | Anadarko (OXY) | 1.01 |
 -4 | 5 | Continental Resources | 0.91 |
Top Producers Gas
| Change | Rank | Company | MMCF Production (Jan-Feb/22) |
| – | 1 | Carbon Creek | 15088 |
| – | 2 | EOG | 10331 |
| – | 3 | Chesapeake Operating | 6582 |
| – | 4 | Anadarko (OXY) | 2951 |
| – | 5 | Devon Energy | 1771 |
Rig Count
Wyoming Oil Production
Wyoming Gas Production
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