In keeping with the national trend, oil development in Kansas was characterized by increases in almost every category of its exploratory program. Approximately 58 oil pools and 12 gas pools were named by the nomenclature committee of the Kansas Geological Society, some of which have since been combined with previously existent pools. Although many of these discoveries were outpost or new-pool discoveries, there were ten new-field or "rank wildcat" discoveries. Rooks County was outstanding because of the marked wildcat activity in this area, which resulted in nine pool discoveries.

There were no important developments and very little drilling in the states of Iowa, Nebraska, and Missouri this year.

Kansas produced slightly more than 106,000,000 barrels of oil and casinghead gasoline during 1947, as compared with the 1946 production of 98,000,000 barrels. Gas production amounted to 180,000,000,000 cubic feet as compared with the 1946 production of 143,000,000,000 cubic feet.

The 1947 dry-hole percentage of 34.7 per cent is only slightly higher than the 1946 figure of 32.2 per cent, although there were almost 900 more wells drilled in 1947 than in 1946.