Oil and Gas Gateway

Oil and Gas Companies

The oil and gas industry is the largest energy industry in the world, with companies spanning the globe. The map below depicts the top oil companies. Anyone can add another company to this list.

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United States Oil and Gas Boards

In the United States, oil and gas boards and commissions are the place for finding data related to oil and gas activities. These activities include well records, permitting, and production records. The list below covers nearly every state. You can add another state organization to this list.

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International Oil and Gas Boards

International oil and gas boards operate similarly to United States oil and gas boards and commissions. This is the place to find information and data about oil activities in a particular country. You can add oil and gas board websites to this list.

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Federal Oil and Gas Statutes

This is a list of major United States Federal Oil and Gas Statutes. These have been key to shaping how the oil and gas industry operates in the United States.

	Year Founded
Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Simplification and Fairness Act of 1996	1996
Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act of 1987 (FOOGLRA)	1987
Indian Mineral Development Act of 1982	1982
Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982	1982
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976	1976
Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970	1970
Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands of 1947	1947
Indian Mineral Leasing Act of 1938	1938
Mineral Leasing Act of 1920	1920
General Mining Act of 1872	1890

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Hydraulic Fracturing

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Tar Sands

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Oil and Gas Datasets

You can use OpenEI datasets to find an abundance of oil and gas data.

This Week in Petroleum from EIA

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Natural Gas Basics

Natural gas, commonly referred to simply as gas, consists chiefly of methane. It is frequently found with other hydrocarbon fuels such as oil, in coal beds, and as methane clathrates (ice-like solids in which a large amount of methane is trapped within a crystal structure of water). There are two main mechanisms by which the majority of natural gas forms: biogenic and thermogenic. Biogenic gas is released as a metabolic byproduct of microorganisms that live in anoxic (without oxygen) conditions, such as in bogs, landfills, marshes, and shallow sediments. Thermogenic gas is created by the decomposition of buried organic material deep within the earth at high temperatures and pressures.

Oil Basics

Oil, also known as petroleum or crude oil, is the preserved remains of prehistoric zooplankton and algae that settled to the bottoms of seas and lakes millions of years ago. Under anoxic conditions (meaning no oxygen was present), this organic matter combined with mud and became buried by layers of sediment. As the layers began to accumulate, they grew increasingly heavy, generating intense heat and pressure. This heat and pressure caused the zooplankton and algae to change: first forming kerogen (an organic compound that is found in various oil shales around the world), and then, with increased time, temperature and pressure, producing oil and natural gas through a process called catagenesis (a term used to describe the breaking down of complex organic molecules into simpler ones). To recover this oil and natural gas from deep within the earth, drilling is required. Once brought to the surface, it is refined and separated, and can then be used to make many of the products we rely on today.