Energy Central-News Article

May 18—The oil and gas production powerhouse that is the Permian Basin continued to dominate US output, according to the Energy Information Administration.

In its monthly Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production report, the agency reported US crude production grew 5.6% or 600,000 barrels per day in 2022 compared to 2021, averaging 11.9 million barrels a day. The regions of Texas and New Mexico that comprise the Permian Basin contributed the most growth last year, according to the report.

For the third consecutive year, New Mexico saw its crude oil production grow more — 300,000 barrels a day — than any other US state. New Mexico in 2022 averaged 1.6 million barrels a day, a record for the state.

Crude oil production in the rest of the United States grew by 0.6% or 33,000 barrels a day. Of the eight remaining states with 100,000 barrels a day or more of oil production in 2022, production increased from 2021 in five states and decreased in three states. Production in California decreased for the eighth consecutive year, and production in Alaska decreased for the fifth consecutive year. In North Dakota, which had been one of the leading states in oil production growth in the past decade, production declined for the third consecutive year in 2022.

"More drilling activity leads to more oil production growth, and we follow the number of active drilling rigs reported by Baker Hughes," the EIA wrote in its report. "Based on this data, the number of land rigs increased by 8 in New Mexico, by 100 in Texas and by 85 in all other states combined in 2022. In 2023, through the first week of May, the number of land rigs decreased in Texas by eight and increased in New Mexico by five."

According to the EIA, the US produced 12,483 million barrels of crude and condensate in February, down from 12,536 million barrels in January but up 10.3 percent from 11,316 million barrels in February 2022.

In New Mexico, production was little changed from January to February at 1.807 million barrels a day but is up a whopping 29% from 1.401 million barrels in February 2022. Texas production averaged 5.264 million barrels a day, down .5% from 5.289 million barrels in January but up 9.2% from 4.821 million barrels in February 2022.

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