# Largest Oil and Gas Fields in the United States

**Source:** Buckhead Energy Oil & Gas Encyclopedia (https://www.buckheadenergy.com/learn) — canonical: https://www.buckheadenergy.com/largest-oil-and-gas-fields-in-united-states

The largest oil and gas fields in the United States are dominated by the Permian Basin's Spraberry field, the giant gas fields of the Barnett (Newark East) and Hugoton, and legacy fields like East Texas and California's San Joaquin Valley. Ranked by the number of wells that have produced from them, Spraberry leads with more than 60,000, reflecting its status as the core of the most productive oil region in the country.

## How these fields are ranked
There is more than one way to rank an oil and gas field. The EIA periodically ranks the top U.S. fields by proved reserves; others rank by current production. The table above ranks the largest fields by a different, verifiable measure — the number of wells that have produced from each field, compiled from state regulator well-header records in Buckhead Energy's database. Well count is a durable indicator of a field's scale and development history, and unlike reserves estimates it can be counted directly from public records.
By any of these measures, the same names recur at the top: the Permian Basin in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, the legacy giants of the Mid-Continent and California, and the great shale gas fields. These figures are refreshed monthly from the underlying well-header database — each table shows the month it reflects — and because the well records grow continually as new wells are drilled, the counts here rise from one refresh to the next.

## The largest oil fields
The Spraberry field — the sprawling, stacked-pay heart of the Permian's Midland Basin — leads decisively with more than 60,000 wells that have produced and over 800 operators of record, a scale no other U.S. oil field approaches. It is the single field most responsible for the Permian's standing as the country's most productive oil region. Behind it, Wattenberg in Colorado's DJ Basin, the Eagleville field of the Eagle Ford in South Texas, and California's heavy-oil giants Midway-Sunset, Belridge South, and Kern River round out the largest oil fields by well count. The historic East Texas field — the 1930 discovery that triggered the modern conservation movement — remains among the largest by lifetime well count nearly a century later.

## The largest gas fields
On the gas side, two names stand out in the well-count data. Newark East — the field name for the Barnett Shale around Fort Worth, the play that launched the shale-gas revolution — has more than 20,000 wells that have produced. The Hugoton gas area, straddling Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, is one of the largest conventional gas fields ever developed in North America and still ranks among the leaders. By reserves, the EIA has ranked the Appalachian Marcellus as the nation's largest natural gas field; because Marcellus wells are recorded under a range of field names across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio, a single-field well count understates it — a reminder that field boundaries and naming conventions differ by state.

## What this means for mineral owners
If your minerals sit within one of these fields, you own an interest in some of the most heavily developed acreage in the country — which usually means a long production history, many offset wells, and active operators. It also means your interest is well-documented in public records, which makes it easier to value and to sell. Fields of this scale draw the most operator activity and the most buyer interest, and Buckhead Energy actively buys mineral and royalty interests across the Permian, Eagle Ford, DJ Basin, Barnett, and the other major fields shown above.
These figures are compiled from public well-header records and are provided free to cite. They are a snapshot of scale and development, not a valuation; what a specific interest is worth depends on your decimal, the wells, the operator, and current prices.

## Frequently asked questions

**What is the largest oil field in the United States?**
By wells that have produced, the Spraberry field in the Permian Basin of West Texas is by far the largest, with more than 60,000 on record — the core of the most productive U.S. oil region. It also ranks at or near the top by proved reserves in EIA rankings.

**What is the largest natural gas field in the United States?**
By proved reserves, the EIA has ranked the Appalachian Marcellus as the largest U.S. natural gas field. By single-field count of wells that have produced, the Barnett Shale (recorded as the Newark East field around Fort Worth) and the Hugoton gas area of the Mid-Continent are among the largest; Marcellus wells span many field names across several states, which understates it in a single-field count.

**How are the largest oil and gas fields measured?**
They can be ranked by proved reserves (the EIA's method), by current production, or by wells that have produced. This page ranks by the count of wells that have produced from state regulator records — a directly countable measure of a field's scale and development history. Different methods can reorder the list, but the largest fields recur near the top under any of them.

**How much oil and gas does the United States produce?**
The EIA estimates U.S. crude oil production at roughly 13.8 million barrels per day and dry natural gas production at roughly 111 billion cubic feet per day — record or near-record levels, driven heavily by the Permian Basin and the major shale plays. The exact current figures, and the period they reflect, are shown in the dated table above.

## Related terms
- [Permian Basin Production Numbers](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/permian-basin-production-numbers)
- [Oil & Gas Operators Directory](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/operators)
- [Texas Mineral Rights & Counties](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/mineral-rights/texas)
- [Oil & Gas Encyclopedia — all terms](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/learn)

_Educational information only, not legal or tax advice. Buckhead Energy is a direct buyer of oil & gas mineral and royalty interests._