In 1986, a 46% drop in the price of oil and a 10% drop in the price of gas, coupled with a decrease in demand, forced a 40.4% decrease in drilling, a 67% drop in gas production, and an 11% drop in oil production in Oklahoma and the Panhandle of Texas (Texas Railroad Commission District 10).

Exploration focused on development and extension of existing fields, with development wells outnumbering exploratory wells 18 to 1.

Operators completed 58.6% fewer exploratory wells and 59.2% fewer development wells in 1986 than in 1985. The 1986 success rate for exploratory wells dropped 0.8%, and the success rate for development wells increased 0.9%. The Cherokee shelf was the most active trend, with 53 exploratory wells completed in 1986.

The dominant plays were the Morrow-Springer and granite wash in the Anadarko basin, Misener on the Sedgwick shelf, Viola and Hunton in the Golden Trend along the Pauls Valley uplift, and Wapanucka, Cromwell, and Atoka in the Arkoma basin.