The Hugoton gas field, located near the southwestern corner of Kansas and an adjoining part of Oklahoma, was discovered in 1927 and became a gas reserve of major importance in 1930. The proved gas-producing area now covers parts of eight counties.

The gas occurs throughout a thickness of 250 feet of dolomite and limestone beds belonging to the lower (Big Blue) series of the Permian system. The porosity of these rocks is believed to be due primarily to the chemical action of ground waters and, perhaps to some extent, to sub-aerial weathering. The structure of the field is that of a generally eastward-dipping homocline, the inclination of the beds increasing with depth.

Gas accumulation is controlled by lateral variation in the character of the sediments forming the reservoir rocks. Study of drill cuttings and of insoluble residues shows that these sediments are predominantly of organic origin throughout the greater part of the field, but grade to increasing percentages of fine clastic materials toward its western edge. This pinching-out of gas-bearing beds is thought to have resulted from fluctuating conditions of deposition along the margin of the Permian sea.

The rock pressure of the field is subnormal and the average open-flow volume of wells is comparatively small. No oil has been found with the gas. A few of the deeper field wells have reached water depths below those at which the gas occurs.

At the end of 1939, the Hugoton field had 300 gas wells (there are no dry holes) with a reported open-flow volume (in Kansas) of 2,712 million cubic feet. Metered withdrawals of gas at that time totaled 211 billion cubic feet.