US crude, natural gas production hit records in 2019

U.S. crude oil and natural gas production set records in 2019 due to increases in drilling efficiency, reported the Energy Information Administration.

U.S. crude production was 12.2 million barrels per day (b/d), while natural gas production hit 111.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), both records.

Further, the average active rig count per month was 943, while the average count of new wells drilled per month was 1,400, according to Baker Hughes rig data and IHS Markit well data. Both of these numbers were at the lower end of the average range. However, a big factor in the increase in production is horizontal drilling. Horizontal wells in the United States averaged about 10,000 feet of lateral length in the early 2000s. The average rig was drilled 18,000 feet to 27,000 feet per month in 2019, almost twice as far as the active rigs in the early 2000s.

Horizontally drilled wells have become especially prevalent in shale and tight formations. In 1990 they accounted for about 2 percent of total wells drilled, but in 2019 they represent about 75 percent of all wells drilled. They averaged 18,000 foot wellbores compared with directional wells, which averaged 10,000 feet, and vertical wells, which averaged 4,500 feet.