How Much Oil Does Wyoming Have Left?

Among the many faulty predictions made, it was once said that the world was going to run out of oil by...

1914: US Bureau of Mines predicted oil would last 10 years.
1939: Dept. of Interior predicted a 13-year supply.
1970s: Frequent predictions that oil would be gone by the 1990s or early 2000s.
1980: Dr. Hans Bethe predicted oil would run out by 2000 (or 2050 with conservation).
1996: Predicted peak oil by 2020.

But with new ways of reaching what was once unknown and unreachable, it is now known that our oil reserves have a long way to go and won't run out anytime soon.

According to the U.S. Department Of Interior, as of 2022, Wyoming holds approximately 1,072 million barrels of proven oil reserves, representing roughly 2.2% of the total U.S. reserves. The state is a major energy producer, ranking eighth nationally in crude oil production in 2023, with significant undiscovered, technically recoverable resources, particularly in the Mowry Composite System, estimated at an additional 473 million barrels.

The U.S. Geological Survey released its assessment of the potential for undiscovered oil and gas in formations under Wyoming and parts of southern Montana, as well as parts of western South Dakota and Nebraska, assessing that there are technically recoverable resources of 47 million barrels of oil and 876 billion cubic feet of gas.

There are some Wyoming oil patches that are nearly depleted after over 100 years of production. The Wyoming State Geological Survey (WSGS) provides ongoing updates on these figures. They are continually updated as we find more and are able to find more ways of getting to hard-to-get-to reserves.