The 1961 drilling activity was highlighted by an increase in the exploration and development of Niagaran reefs in St. Clair County. The increase was not statewide, however, as total completions registered a noticeable decline from the previous year. This can be attributed to decreased activity in the Trenton-Black River development in the south-central part of the Southern Peninsula. Comparatively, there were 740 completions in 1961 and 832 completions in 1960. Of the 1961 total, 423 were development wells and 317 were wildcat wells. The wildcat ventures resulted in 26 discoveries and 291 dry holes. Four other discoveries were recorded but not included in the statistics as they were not actually connected with exploratory drilling for the year.

The footage drilled for oil and gas including deepenings was 2,309,437 ft., classified as exploratory 1,002,389 ft. and development 1,307,048 ft. In 1960 the total was 2,986,437 ft.

Oil and gas production increased again with 18,900,947 bbls. of oil and 25,044,786 MCF gas being produced.

Gravity crews were less active this year with only two in the state at the close of the year. Two and three seismic crews also operated in the state, but these were reported released at the end of the year with one exception. Some electrical resistivity work was done. Leasing activity was down slightly with 18 companies reporting 3,498,099 undeveloped acres under lease. The same companies had 3,563,993 acres under lease in 1960.