New York's Oil & Gas Production: Steuben & Allegany Counties Lead

New York's modest oil and natural gas production comes overwhelmingly from two adjacent counties in the western Southern Tier:

1. Steuben County — Highest production; center of the Trenton-Black River hydrothermal dolomite play (discovered 1990s). Vertical & horizontal wells.
2. Allegany County — Historic Bradford Field extension (Pennsylvania border); shallow sandstone reservoirs; legacy production since 1880s.

Geologic Context

• Part of the Appalachian Basin — northern extent of Marcellus/Utica shales (but NY banned high-volume hydraulic fracturing in 2014).
• Production is from conventional and low-permeability reservoirs (Trenton-Black River, Medina, Queenston), not shale fracking.

Current Status (2023)

• Oil: ~150,000 barrels/year (stripper wells dominant).
• Gas: ~5–6 Bcf/year (declining).
• Wells: ~3,500 active (mostly marginal stripper wells <15 boe/day).
• Operators: Small independents (e.g., Texas Keystone, East Resources legacy).

Regulatory Note

NY's fracking ban (2014) and climate law (CLCPA, 2019) make new development unlikely. Focus is on plugging orphan wells, methane reduction, and transition.