Report examines domestic crude oil production, imports

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) Monthly Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production and Monthly Imports Report maintains America produces lighter crude oil and imports heavier crude oil.

The analysis determined last year total crude oil production grew by 17 percent, led by increased production of relatively light, less dense crude oil, attributing the rise in light crude oil production to the growth in crude oil production from shale and tight rock formations, which are now more accessible because of improvements in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

The report also revealed crude oil production with an API gravity greater than 40 degrees grew from 1.2 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2015 to more than 5.8 million b/d in 2018 – accounting for 55 percent of total Lower 48 production last year.

The crude oil produced in North Dakota’s Bakken formation also tends to be relatively light while the crude oil produced in California and the Federal Gulf of Mexico tends to be heavier.

The report said despite producing record levels of crude oil, America continues to import crude oil because of variations in crude oil quality. API gravity, along with sulfur content, determines the type of processing needed to refine crude oil into fuel and other petroleum products, all of which factor into refineries’ profits.

In contrast to the light crude oil that is increasingly produced domestically, imported crude oil tends to be heavier. The report showed last year 7.5 million b/d of imported crude oil had an API gravity of 40 or lower, compared with 4.7 million b/d of domestic production.