Exploitation of existing fields and discoveries remained the focus with development wells outnumbering exploratory wells 13 to 1 in 1988. The total number of development wells, however, remained flat from 1987 to 1988, but exploratory wells increased 3.9%. The success rate for exploratory wells remained the same; the success rate for development wells decreased 5.1%. The Sedgwick shelf was the most actively explored trend with 44 wells completed in 1988.

Two significant 1987 discoveries led to increased wildcatting in the Arkoma and Ardmore-Marietta basins. Elsewhere in Oklahoma, the dominant plays were the Misener and Wilcox in Grant County; the pre-Pennsylvanian on the Sedgwick shelf in Alfalfa County; the Viola, Hunton, and Wilcox along the Pauls Valley uplift in Pottawatomie County; and the Morrow-Springer in the Anadarko basin.

Ultra-deep drilling resumed with the spudding of 28,500-ft Arbuckle tests by both Exxon and Unocal in Beckham County, Oklahoma.

Consolidation and sales of assets continued with more than 15 companies buying or selling out in 1988.