KANSAS STRONG: STRENGTH THROUGH RELIABLE OIL AND NATURAL GAS IS MORE THAN A TAGLINE!

Kansas, often recognized for its expansive plains and agricultural prowess, boasts a lesser-known yet significant history in the realm of oil and gas development.

- JASON SPIESS

Here is a glimpse into the captivating narrative of how these resources have shaped the Sunflower State.

“Kansas is a unique oil and gas producing state,” Kansas Strong’s Executive Director Warren Martin says. “We’re the 11th leading producing state in the nation, yet we do not have Big Oil here in Kansas. We don’t have any of the major oil companies here.”

Martin is a philosophy graduate of Texas Tech University as well as an author, teacher, minister, artist, quasiphilosopher and speaker known for his unique teaching style. He has a passion to inspire and invest in the next generation of leaders. He currently serves as Executive Director of Kansas Strong for the promotion of the quality of life created by the oil and natural gas industry.

Martin added that many of the big oil companies got their start here, but really “only one that could even slightly be considered” a major oil producing company actually does production in the state today.

“We have a lot of pipeline companies. We have a lot of refining companies. But oil and gas production is predominantly done by local, independent oil and gas producers across the state. We are almost exclusively a marginal well state.”

According to Martin, marginal wells are those that produce 15 barrels or less – dripper wells, as they’re sometimes called.

“The average here in Kansas is two and a half barrels a day for a well, and the average oil company only has three employees,” Martin explains. “So, we’re really working on those margins, which is why a lot of the big oil companies left here decades ago to go to the Permian, North Dakota and other places to really kind of do that development.”