Hugoton Natural Gas Area
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hugoton Natural Gas Area is a combination of large natural gas fields in the U.S. State of Kansas, the largest of which is the Hugoton Field. Its name is derived from the town of Hugoton, Kansas, near which the Hugoton Field was first discovered. It is believed to be the largest natural gas field in North America.
[edit] History
Natural gas in the Hugoton area was first discovered in 1922 in Seward County, three miles west of Liberal. Because this well did not produce oil, it was considered to have little value and remained unused for several years. In 1927, gas was discovered at the Independent Oil and Gas Company's Crawford No. 1, about 2,600 feet (790 meters) below the surface southwest of Hugoton, Kansas, in Stevens County. This is now considered the center of the Hugoton Natural Gas Area. By the end of 1928, five wells had been drilled in the field and the first pipeline was transporting gas to local markets. In 1929, Argus Pipe Line Company started construction of a pipeline to furnish gas to Dodge City, Kansas. Construction of major pipelines in the 1930's encouraged further drilling in the area. Today, approximately 11,000 wells produce gas and oil in the Kansas portion of the Hugoton area, and thousands of miles of pipeline carry Hugoton gas to many parts of the U.S. Approximately 7,800 wells produce gas from the Chase Group in the Hugoton Field.
