Oll and gas extraction industry gross output in the U.S. 1998-2021

The gross output of the U.S. oil and gas extraction industry stood at 396.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, up from 256 billion dollars in the previous year. Generally, gross output over the past two decades has increased. However, growth has not been steady as it fluctuated heavily following the 2008 financial crisis, the oil glut in 2015 and 2016, and the 2020 oil crisis brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

Domestic oil production

In 2008, U.S. oil and gas output reached one of its highest points before scaling back significantly in the following years. U.S. oil production had been decreasing slowly over the previous decade, until technological advances and a surge in oil prices following the recession made domestic production viable again. Though initially declining until 2012, daily consumption in the U.S. increased for several years until the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shale on the rise

During the recession, the U.S. oil and gas industry made use of lower interest rates to invest in raising domestic production and thereby avoiding volatile oil prices on the international market. Shale gas and oil that was previously inaccessible became economically feasible to extract through new methods such as hydraulic fracturing. Production soared and exceeded demand, resulting in an oversupply by the mid-2010s.