Current Activity

In 1997, 731 oil and gas wells were reported statewide with an overall success rate of 62 percent. The most active county was Clinton County in south-central Kentucky, with 104 wells reported. Most of the Clinton County wells targeted Ordovician fractured carbonate reservoirs with only a 32% success rate. Drilling and development of the Devonian Clear Creek play of Edmonson County has slowed significantly with only 6 wells reported and a decline to 57 thousand barrels of oil produced. The deep play in the Cambrian Rome Formation of Elliott County continues in of eastern Kentucky. A research project to characterize the regional framework geology of the Rome Trough of eastern Kentucky has been funded.

Overview of drilling in Edmonson County.