Ohio Broke Its 1896 Oil Record, 119 Years Later

In 1896 Ohio pumped about 24 million barrels of oil, more than any other state. The Lima oil field made Ohio the nation's top oil state from 1895 to 1903.

For the next century, Ohio's oil faded. By 2011 the state produced under 5 million barrels a year, and the state's geologists had written that Ohio "never again reached" its 1896 level.

Then drillers started going sideways into the Utica shale under eastern Ohio (Carroll, Harrison, Guernsey, Noble and Belmont counties). In 2015 Ohio passed its 1896 record, 119 years later. In 2025 it pumped about 50 million barrels, twice the old record.

Those barrels include the light oil, called condensate, that comes up with shale gas; the federal count includes it for every state. 2025 is a first estimate.

What each side sees: royalties, jobs and tax money in eastern Ohio; and more wells, truck traffic and brine to dispose of.

Do you live near the Utica wells? What changed?

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Ohio field production of crude oil including lease condensate (1981-2025; 2025 preliminary); Ohio Department of Natural Resources Geological Survey for 1896.

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