Crude oil production hits record high in 2017
U.S. crude oil production reached its highest level in history in November 2017, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Monthly U.S. crude oil production reached 10.07 million barrels per day in an all-time high.
For the year, annual average U.S. crude oil production reached 9.3 million barrels per day in 2017, an increase of 464,000 barrels per day from 2016.
U.S. crude oil production has increased significantly over the past 10 years. This growth in production stems mainly from tight rock formations using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing.
EIA projects that U.S. crude oil production will keep growing this year and next. In 2018 EIA expects to average 10.7 million barrels per day and in 2019 that will increase to 11.3 million barrels per day.
Texas continues to produce more crude oil than any other region of the United States. Texas crude oil production averaged 3.5 million barrels per day in 2017. In December, Texas reached a record high monthly level of 3.95 million barrels per day. Texas’s growth was driven by increased production within the Permian region, which spans parts of Texas and New Mexico.
In the second half of 2017, New Mexico surpassed California and Alaska to become the third-largest crude oil-producing state. The Federal Gulf of Mexico was the second-largest producing region in 2017.
Production in Colorado, Oklahoma, Alaska, and North Dakota grew in 2017, while California’s production declined slightly.
