Powder River Basin Oil & Gas Production
The Powder River Basin spans northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana. It is better known as the largest coal-producing region in the United States, but it is also an oil basin: operators drill horizontal wells into the Niobrara, Turner, Parkman and related formations, and it was once a major coalbed-methane gas field.
Key Figures
| Measure | Value | As of / source |
|---|---|---|
| States | Northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana | USGS; EIA |
| Oil targets | Niobrara, Turner, Parkman, Teapot and related formations | USGS; operators |
| Wyoming crude oil production (whole state) | 311 kb/d in July 2026, +5.1% on a year earlier, #7 among US states. This includes Wyoming oil outside the Powder River Basin, which EIA does not report separately. | EIA monthly state production |
| Land | A large share of the minerals is federally owned and leased through the Bureau of Land Management | BLM |
| Regulators | Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission; Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation |
Every major US shale basin compared side by side, plus the breakeven-vs-WTI chart, decline curves and water use: how fracking works.
Oil, Coal and Gas in One Basin
Why it is different
- Unlike the Permian or Bakken, the Powder River is a smaller, more selective oil play whose economics depend on the oil price and on how each operator's acreage tests out.
- The basin's coal seams hold methane, and coalbed-methane wells made it a leading US gas source in the 2000s before low gas prices and declining volumes cut activity.
- It is still the heart of US coal mining, so federal leasing decisions here affect both fuels.
What moves it
- The WTI price against local breakevens: see the price charts and how fracking works for breakeven context.
- Federal leasing and permitting policy, because so much of the acreage is on federal land.
- Crude takeaway to Guernsey, Wyoming and the Midwest. Baker Hughes does not report Powder River rigs separately, so they are not broken out on the rig map.
Major Producers in the Powder River Basin
| Company | Type | Ownership | Ticker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Devon Energy | Independent producer (public) | Publicly traded; former Devon holders own about 54% and former Coterra holders about 46% of the combined company. | DVN |
| Continental Resources | Private producer | Privately held and controlled by founder Harold Hamm and family after the 2022 take-private; it has no publicly traded common shares (June 2026 Form 10-Q). | — |
Companies with a material producing position in this basin, from the oil company directory (hand-curated from company filings; positions change with deals, so check the latest filing before relying on it). It is not a production ranking.
Powder River Basin FAQ
Who are the biggest operators in the Powder River Basin?
Companies in this site's directory with material producing positions in the Powder River Basin include Devon Energy, Continental Resources (some hold non-operated interests). Ownership and the other basins each one works are in the producer table above and in the oil company directory.
Is the Powder River Basin an oil basin?
Partly. It produces oil from horizontal wells in the Niobrara and neighbouring formations, but it is far smaller as an oil source than the Permian, Bakken or Eagle Ford, and it is best known for coal. EIA does not publish a separate Powder River figure; Wyoming's statewide crude production is shown above for context.
Why is the Powder River Basin important for coal?
It holds the thick, shallow, low-sulfur subbituminous coal seams that make it the largest coal-producing region in the United States, with most of the output coming from surface mines in Wyoming.