Kansas Oil and Gas

As Kansas continues to make strides as a renewable energy leader, it’s also important to recognize the role that oil and gas plays in our state’s energy mix and our overall economy.

Oil and gas consistently makes the list of the top three industries in our state. We’re a state with abundant natural resources, including a considerable amount of crude oil and natural gas reserves found in several basins across the state. The potential underneath our feet has unlocked nearly $2.6 billion in output last year alone, put tens of thousands of Kansans to work and pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into our state’s economy.

Jobs in this industry have been an important part of our history as a state. And, over the past decade, the Kansas oil and gas industry supported 118,000 jobs, $3 billion in family income and $1.4 billion in state and local tax revenue.

Kansas is a top 10 oil-producing state and accounts for almost 1% of total U.S. crude oil output. Kansas is also an oil-refining state. A network of pipelines delivers crude oil to the state’s three refineries, which combined can process about 390,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The refineries produce a variety of petroleum products, including diesel fuel, motor gasoline and jet fuel.

We’re also among the 10 largest corn-producing states, and we use part of our corn crop as the feed-stock to make fuel ethanol at a dozen ethanol production plants. This has made us a top 10 ethanol-producing state, with production capacity of about 500 million gallons a year.

In terms of natural gas, the 12,000-square-mile Hugoton Gas Field, one of the largest natural gas areas in the United States, covers much of southwestern Kansas. Overall, the state contributes nearly 1% to U.S. total marketed natural gas production. We currently have 16 natural gas storage fields that equal about 3% of U.S. storage capacity. And, in terms of consumption, nearly 7 out of 10 Kansas households use natural gas as their primary energy source for home heating. This resource keeps Kansans warm during our state’s bitterly cold winters.

Nationally, Kansas ranks as the 9th largest oil producing state and 14th largest natural gas producing state. Over 2,100 licensed oil and gas operators produced nearly 36 million barrels of oil and more than 185 billion cubic feet of natural gas in 2018.

As an attorney with oil and gas clients in Southeast Kansas, my grandfather was a member of the Kansas Independent Oil and Gas Association. With more than 4,200 members, KIOGA is the lead state and national advocate for Kansas independent oil and natural gas producers. Today, this organization helps drive innovation across the industry, which is adapting and evolving to continue to produce dynamic growth while increasing their environmental stewardship.

The work of the industry goes on all across Kansas, and this provides strong sources of investment and entrepreneurship opportunities in every corner of the state. Through job creation and energy production, oil and gas resources continue to play an important part in the livelihoods of Kansans throughout the state.

-DT