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Although US oil production growth is occurring primarily in the Bakken, Eagle Ford, and Permian Basins, the Powder River Basin is among other regions of the country that have also benefitted from the application of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, EIA said.

The increase in Powder River Basin oil production is largely attributable to production growth in the Turner, Parkman, and Niobrara-Codell formations, which collectively increased from 4,700 bbl/d in 2009 to 36,300 bbl/d in first-quarter 2014, increasing their share of total Powder River Basin oil production from 12% to 46%.

Three other formations—the Shannon, Sussex, and Frontier—also rose from 2009 to 2014, although to a lesser extent, rising from 8,900 bbl/d in 2009 to 17,000 bbl/d in first-quarter 2014, maintaining their share of total Powder River Basin oil production at around 23%.

The Powder River Basin encompasses more than 43,000 square miles and is located primarily in northeast Wyoming and southeast Montana, along with small areas of South Dakota and Nebraska. The recent resurgence is occurring predominantly in the Wyoming portion of the basin, which is also the main source of the Basin’s historical oil production. Since January 2009, more than 590 oil wells have been drilled and completed in the six select formations within the Powder River Basin, with this activity centered in Wyoming’s Converse and Campbell counties.