The strata of eastern Kentucky range from Cambrian to Pennsylvanian. Regional dip is southeastward. Reservoir rocks include sandstone, limestone, dolomite, and shale. The chief oil reservoirs are the Weir sandstone and the "Corniferous" dolomite. The main gas reservoirs are the Devonian shale beds followed by the "Big Lime" and the Berea. Minor gas production is obtained from the "Salt" sandstone beds, the Maxon Sandstone, and the "Corniferous." Cambrian-Ordovician gas and oil reservoirs are the Beekmantown and Trenton.

The Pine Mountain overthrust block is the most pronounced surface feature in the area. The Irvine-Paint Creek fault and the Paint Creek uplift have had an important role in gas and oil entrapment, but gas production is controlled primarily by stratigraphic factors.

Future production may be obtained by the deepening of shallow wells to known productive sections. The Berea has good potential for production in Pike County. New completion methods should be applied to the Devonian shales. The Clinton sandstone should be productive on trend with producing areas of southern Ohio. A major target in the Cambrian-Ordovician is the Beekmantown-Knox, and there are secondary possibilities in the Trenton-Black River.