Oil rig count in the U.S. by region May 2024

The Permian basin is the region with the largest number of oil rigs in the United States. As of end of May 2024, there were 309 active rigs in the basin. This was around six times the number of rigs in Eagle Ford, which ranked second. Both basins are mainly located in Texas. The number of operational U.S. oil and gas rigs stood at around 600 units around the same time. 

U.S. oil industry

In the years following the development of sophisticated extraction methods for shale oil and gas, the U.S. has grown to become the world’s leading oil-producing country, ahead of Saudi Arabia. U.S. oil production peaked in 2022, at nearly 18 million barrels per day.

U.S. as an oil exporter

In December 2015, the U.S. lifted a longtime ban on exports of crude oil from the U.S. Since then, the amount of oil exported from the U.S. has also increased significantly. In line with a production increase, 2022 also saw the largest amount of oil exports from the U.S. The leading oil exporters globally included large producer countries such as the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Russia.