ALBANY — While not known as an energy-producing giant, the Empire State continues to tap its energy resources.

Production of natural gas in New York remained high last year, though levels were the third-highest on record. In 2007, 54.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas, enough to heat almost 800,000 homes for a year, was pulled from underneath New York, the state Department of Environmental Conservation announced Friday.

The state's oil wells produced 386,887 barrels in 2007, a 20 percent increase over the previous year's total, DEC said.

"Natural gas production from wells in New York state is a valuable and important resource for the state, providing additional supplies of a cleaner-burning fuel and helping to meet our energy needs," said Alexander B. "Pete" Grannis, DEC commissioner, in a press release. "DEC has a great deal of authority to oversee drilling and we will exercise it to ensure that the environment is safeguarded, operations are conducted efficiently and landowners' rights are protected."

Combined, 12,994 oil and gas wells were in production in 2007 statewide. DEC said it issued 577 well-drilling permits in 2007, down from 622 the year before, but up from 436 in 2005.

In 2007, 386 permits were issued for natural gas wells, 142 for oil wells, 31 for geothermal wells, 14 for brine production wells, two for stratigraphic wells and two for underground gas storage wells. The depth of all the wells drilled in 2007 in New York equaled more than 1.4 million feet, or about 274 miles — roughly the distance from Albany to Buffalo, DEC said.

New York's fossil fuel resources are concentrated on the southern tier, as well as in the Finger Lakes and western regions of the state. These areas represent the northernmost reach of the Trenton-Black River geological formation, which stretches underneath Appalachia — from Kentucky through Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania and into upstate New York and southwestern Ontario.

This formation has been New York's primary gas production zone for more than a decade, accounting for 75 percent of the state's total, DEC said.

DEC estimates the total market value of oil and gas production in New York for 2007 to be $516 million. Landowners received an estimated $60.75 million in production royalties, DEC said, while taxes by local governments on this market value are estimated at $15 million.

The average price of natural gas in New York was $8.85 per thousand cubic feet in 2007, while the average wellhead price of oil was $78.59 per barrel, DEC said.