Number of U.S. oil rigs by region December 2020

The Permian basin is the region with the largest number of oil rigs in the United States. As of December 2020, there were 175 active rigs. The region with the second largest number of oil and gas rigs at that time was Eagle Ford, with 25 rigs. The fall in operational oil rigs is due to the oil crisis as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. oil industry

The U.S. is the world’s leading oil-producing country, followed by Saudi Arabia. Within the U.S., the amount of oil produced has increased significantly in recent years. In a push to decrease trade deficits, President Donald Trump has made strides to increase domestic production of oil and oil exports and allowed for parts of the Alaska Arctic National Wildlife Reserve to be leased for oil drilling.

Oil exports worldwide

In December 2015, the U.S. lifted a longtime ban on exports of crude oil from the U.S. Since that time, the amount of oil exported from the U.S. has increased significantly. 2019 saw the largest amount of oil exports from the U.S. in recent history. That year, the largest oil exporters globally included the U.S., Middle East, and Russia.