In 2018, oil production in the United States reached 15.3 million barrels per day, the highest point in history. The United States currently produces more oil than any other country in the world.
Why has U.S. oil production increased?
As U.S. oil production has more than doubled since the 2008 recession, imports of crude oil to the United States have decreased. An upsurge in foreign oil prices during the financial crisis, particularly from OPEC countries located mainly in the Middle East, motivated the U.S. energy industry to find ways to increase production domestically.
Developments in extraction technology
During the recession, investors took advantage of low-interest rates to develop costly oil extraction processes such as hydraulic fracturing. Also known as “fracking,” this extraction method made it possible to access shale oil deep underground that was once out of reach. Texas and North Dakota are major sites of shale reserves and have thus become the two largest oil-producing states in the country.
Oil production in the United States from 1998 to 2018
(in 1,000 barrels per day)
Oil production includes crude oil, shale oil, oil sands and NGLs (natural gas liquids - the liquid content of natural gas in which the condensate is recovered separately). Liquid fuels from other sources, such as biomass and coal derivatives are not included. Figures for years not included in the pdf version were taken from the Data workbook of the Statistical Review.
This statistic was assembled using several editions of the report.
This feature is limited to our corporate solutions.
Please contact us to get started with full access to dossiers, forecasts, studies and international data.
Corporate Account
Statista Accounts:
Access All Statistics. Starting from $708 / Year
Basic Account
Get to know the platform
You only have access to basic statistics.
This statistic is not included in your account!
Premium Account
Your perfect start with Statista
Instant access to 1m statistics
Download in XLS, PDF & PNG format
Detailed references
$59 / Month *
Corporate Account
Full access
Corporate solution including all features.
* All products require an annual contract.
Prices do not include sales tax.
Statista Accounts:
Access All Statistics. Starting from $708 / Year
Learn more about how Statista can support your business.
BP. (June 11, 2019). Oil production in the United States from 1998 to 2018 (in 1,000 barrels per day) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved April 03, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/265181/us-oil-production-in-barrels-per-day-since-1998/
BP. "Oil production in the United States from 1998 to 2018 (in 1,000 barrels per day)." Chart. June 11, 2019. Statista. Accessed April 03, 2020. https://www.statista.com/statistics/265181/us-oil-production-in-barrels-per-day-since-1998/
BP. (2019). Oil production in the United States from 1998 to 2018 (in 1,000 barrels per day). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: April 03, 2020. https://www.statista.com/statistics/265181/us-oil-production-in-barrels-per-day-since-1998/
BP. "Oil Production in The United States from 1998 to 2018 (in 1,000 Barrels per Day)." Statista, Statista Inc., 11 Jun 2019, https://www.statista.com/statistics/265181/us-oil-production-in-barrels-per-day-since-1998/
BP, Oil production in the United States from 1998 to 2018 (in 1,000 barrels per day) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/265181/us-oil-production-in-barrels-per-day-since-1998/ (last visited April 03, 2020)
We use cookies to personalize contents and ads, offer social media features, and analyze access to our website. In your browser settings you can configure or disable this, respectively, and can delete any already placed cookies. For details, please see your browser’s Help section (by pressing F1). Please see our privacy statement for details about how we use data.
