According to the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the number of active oil and gas drilling rigs in Wyoming is down by nearly 50% since November. The number of oil and gas rigs operating nationwide has dropped by 39% since August, according to federal figures.

In Wyoming, drilling permits issued by the commission for the first two months of the year are down by 35%. Interim Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Supervisor Bob King said the state issued 372 drilling permits in February. The commission issued 634 permits in February 2008. Wyoming producers generated about 1.6 Tcf of natural gas in 2008. The majority of the production came from the lucrative CBM fields in the Powder River Basin in northeast Wyoming and the Jonah and Pinedale Anticline fields in southwest Wyoming. Wyoming has seen at least two large companies, EnCana Corp. and Questar Corp., curtail some of their drilling operations in southwest Wyoming in recent months, in part because of the low natural gas prices and the larger meltdown of the financial markets. Things are especially bleak for CBM gas producers in northeast Wyoming, where producers typically receive about $1 per Tcf less than natural gas producers across the rest of the state. In addition to shrinking natural gas prices, the industry has moved onto more federal acres in recent years, which means more federal regulations. Several seasonal wildlife restrictions come into play this time of year, driving down the number of rigs even when prices are strong.