News from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission

Jim Palmer, Director of Information

April 19, 2000

(OKLAHOMA CITY)—Preliminary figures compiled by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission indicate a continued drop in oil and gas production for the state. Early January oil figures show a decline of 551,455 barrels from December. The 73,526,416 barrels of oil produced in 1999 were the lowest totals for Oklahoma since 1913 and are part of a 15 year decline.

January oil production was 5,411,121 barrels or a daily average of 174,552 barrels. The average price for a barrel (42 gals.) of crude in January was $26.08.

January gas production was 99.6 billion cubic feet or a daily average of 3.2 billion cubic feet. The average price for gas during January was $2.17 per mcf (thousand cubic feet).

Gas production statewide continues to be the lowest since 1933 and remains on a six year decline. But in Pushmataha county in southeastern Oklahoma, a single gas lease puts that county in the production column for the first time in nearly a decade. OCC statistics manager Larry Claxton said it’s the first time since he has been compiling statistics for the commission that Pushmataha county has shown any activity. Claxton says the lease started operating in late December and still produced 167.2 million cubic feet of gas. Figures for the first full month (Jan.) of the lease’s operation revealed 581.1 million cubic feet of gas produced.

Latimer county in eastern Oklahoma is the heaviest gas producing county in the state at 19.1 billion cubic feet during January, an amount nearly double November and December production for that county.

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