Kansas produced 98,907,986 barrels of oil in 1942, more than 15,000,000 more than in the previous year and the largest amount in any year. Production early in 1943 was running close to 300,000 barrels per day which is almost equal to the pipe-line capacity in the state.

There were few important oil discoveries in Kansas in 1942, although there were many extensions of old pools. None of the discoveries in 1941 was developed into a major field. Although the number of wildcats increased, the general class of prospects was poorer than in previous years. Geophysical prospects were especially disappointing. Due to the increased wildcatting and the wider spacing, the dry-hole percentage increased to 40.7 per cent, compared with 26.9 per cent in 1941. The number of wells drilled fell from 1,818 to 1,353. This is due in part to the shortage of equipment, but chiefly to the introduction of 40-acre spacing. Daily allowable per well continued to increase and some prolific fields were being produced at a rate that approached the limits of good production practice

The first deep production in the Forest City basin in Missouri was found by a small well in Atchison County. There were no other encouraging developments in Missouri or Iowa. No new pools were found in Nebraska, although wildcat drilling yielded much valuable stratigraphic information. The old pools appear to be completely drilled. The cumulative production to the end of 1942 was approximately 3,430,000 barrels.