Illinois crude oil production totaled 8,250,793 barrels in 2019, according to data compiled by the Illinois Petroleum Resources Board (IPRB) that is based on first-purchaser reports. Click here to view IPRB’s annual report.

White County accounted for nearly a quarter of overall state production last year, as Illinois’ top-producing county surpassed the two million-barrel plateau with 2,049,462 barrels of production. That represents a 102,000-barrel (5.2 percent) increase from 2018 and is nearly twice the production the county had just a decade ago.

Marion (854,820 barrels), Crawford (743,027), Lawrence (639,774) and Fayette (577,505) counties rounded out Illinois’ top-five producing counties in 2019.

Hamilton County saw the second-largest year-over-year production increase (38,100 barrels) in the state, vaulting past Richland County onto the top-10 list of producing counties with 238,416 barrels of production.

Franklin (7,152-barrel increase), Jefferson (3,939-barrel increase), Madison (2,729 increase), Brown (1,855 increase), Washington (1,687 increase), Moultrie (338 increase) and Schuyler (122 increase) counties also increased production from 2018 levels in 2019.

Overall state production declined 2.3 percent (194,295 barrels) from 2018 levels.

The state’s top-15 producing counties – White, Marion, Crawford, Lawrence, Fayette, Wabash, Wayne, Clay, Franklin, Hamilton, Richland, Clark, Jasper, Gallatin and Jefferson counties – once again accounted for 90 percent of production in the state. Fourteen of those counties – as well as Effingham and Brown counties – have passed Resolutions of Support for the Illinois Oil Production Industry in the past calendar year, formally acknowledging the importance of the industry to their local economies while also endorsing further growth of the industry in their counties.

Illinois oil production has ranged from 8.25 to 10.05 barrels since 2006, averaging 9.2 million barrels per year.