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The Ohio natural gas and crude oil industry has a rich heritage that dates back to the birth of the industry. According to history,
Ohio lays claim to the first discovery of crude oil in the United States from a well, drilled decades before the Civil War.
In 1814, two men drilling for salt in Noble County discovered a thick black liquid. Today, that petroleum liquid is known as crude oil.
In 1860, Ohio's first crude oil well was put into commercial production in Washington County, preceded a few months by the famous Colonel Drake discovery in Pennsylvania. Commercial natural gas production began in 1884. Soon thereafter large-scale exploration and production of natural gas and crude oil began in Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia and Ohio. Nowhere else in the United States has commercial natural gas and crude oil production existed longer than that located within the Appalachian Basin.
A century ago, the Lima-Trenton field of northwestern Ohio was one of the largest U.S. producing provinces, and Ohio was considered the "Middle East" of the natural gas and crude oil producing world. At its peak year of 1896, Ohio produced 24 million barrels of crude oil. Shortly thereafter a record was set in 1899 when 6,399 wells were drilled in the state. Obviously, much has changed since the early days. Since that time, a legendary entrepreneurial spirit, inspired from the early explorers, has been coupled with modern technology to open up vast natural gas and crude oil fields across Ohio, the United States and the world.
Ohio has numerous reservoirs offering natural gas and crude oil potential. These reservoirs are located over the majority of the state land mass. The drill bit has tested natural gas and crude oil reservoirs at depths ranging from less than 100 feet to over 11,500 feet. Many wells, particularly in southeastern Ohio, are completed in multiple reservoirs.
Natural gas and crude oil production has been found in 76 of Ohio's 88 counties. However, for the most part, natural gas and crude
oil is produced in the eastern half of the state. Currently, 47 Ohio counties produce commercial quantities of natural gas and crude oil.
Last year, Ohio produced more than 86 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 5 million barrels of crude oil (or 210 million gallons). Local natural gas production provided approximately 11% of Ohio's natural gas consumption. That's enough natural gas to heat about
1 million homes per year. And nearly 100% of the natural gas produced in Ohio is used right here in our State.
Ohio's natural gas and crude oil industry will continue to make a significant energy, economic and lifestyle impact today and into the future.
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