Gross output of the U.S. oil and gas extraction industry 1998-2018

In 2018, the gross output of the U.S. oil and gas extraction industry stood at 412 billion U.S. dollars, up from 305 billion dollars in the previous year. There has been an increase in output over the last decades, but the rise in output has not been steady, as it fluctuated heavily following the 2008 financial crisis and the oil glut in the 2010s.

The recession hits

In 2008, U.S. gas and oil 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, and while the number natural gas producing wells had been growing, the shale industry may still be in its early stages. When the recession hit, oil prices surged, and daily consumption in the United States was reduced for the first time after years of steady increase.

Shale on the rise

During the recession, the oil and gas industry in the United States 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.