White County is still the king of oil production. That’s according to the latest report from the Illinois Petroleum Resources Board detailing 2022 oil production by county in the state. More than 7.2 million barrels of crude oil were produced based on first purchaser reports throughout the state. Of those, more than 28%, 2,038,796 barrels came from White County alone. That’s more than the next 3 counties (Marion, Crawford, Fayette) combined. All that and White County’s production was down by 127,000 barrels versus 2021. The state’s total 2022 production was down 2.3% from 2021 according to the IPRB as continued labor shortages and weather – related challenges trumped high oil prices and increased drilling activity. Several counties did see increases in production compared to 2021 however including neighboring Hamilton County. Hamilton produced nearly a quarter of a million barrels in 2022 (234,104), a 51,077 barrel increase in production over the previous year. White County’s production was it’s fourth straight year of 2 million plus barrels produced.
