Oil industry in the United States - statistics & facts

Crude oil is the main ingredient for a great variety of industrial products such as transportation fuels, plastics, solvents, and a source of electricity and heat generation. The United States has been extracting oil since the 1850s and in the years since increased oil production to over 16 million barrels per day.

Where oil reserves are found in the U.S.

Up until the past decade, the majority of crude oil withdrawn in the U.S. was taken from carbonate and sandstone reservoirs. This liquid fossil fuel is found both in reservoir rocks and source rocks, with the latter having become more accessible and financially viable following technological advances. The U.S. holds the world’s ninth-largest oil reserves worldwide.

Permian basin is most productive oilfield

Texas is the leading oil-producing state in the country. The Permian basin and Eagle Ford Shale Play are largely located in Texas and one of the most actively drilled targets for conventional and unconventional oil, such as shale and oil sands. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the number of operational oil rigs in the U.S. was significantly reduced in 2020, but has since been on the way to recovery. Although the Permian basin is the most productive oil region, the neighboring Eagle Ford play and North Dakota’s Bakken Formation ranked first in terms of oil production per new well.

Economic impacts of the oil industry

As a result of the relatively high cost of unconventional oil production, the coronavirus pandemic threatened many U.S.-based oil and gas projects and the liquidity of companies within the industry. Behemoths such as ExxonMobil reported record losses for the year as they struggled to turn profits while the WTI price fell to an annual average of 39.16 U.S. dollars per barrel – lower than during the 2015 and 2016 oil glut. In late 2021 and early 2022, the economic recovery following months of reduced travel activity and market uncertainties surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war brought about an oil supply bottleneck and pushed prices to 15-year highs. As a result, just two years after recording historic losses, major oil companies were able to cash in exorbitant profits for the first two quarters of 2022 despite production output staying relatively stable.

This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.

Leading oil producing country worldwide: United States

Projected U.S. energy production from crude oil 2050: 26.86q BTU

Value added by the U.S. oil and gas extraction industry: 196.23bn USD

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Oil production in the United States from 1998 to 2022 (in 1,000 barrels per day)

Energy

Oil production in the United States 1998-2022

Average WTI price needed for U.S. oil and gas producers to stay profitable by well status in selected U.S. oilfields as of 2022* (in U.S. dollars per barrel)

Prices, Marketing, and Trade

U.S. oil & gas producers' breakeven prices by oilfield 2022

Number of employees in the oil and gas extraction industry in the United States from 1998 to 2021 (in 1,000)

Fossil Fuels

Oil and gas extraction industry employment in the U.S. 1998-2021

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Overview

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Reserves & production

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Infrastructure

Basic Statistic Rotary rig count in U.S. by type 2011-2022
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Number of oil, gas, and miscellaneous rotary rigs in the United States from 2011 to 2022
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Trade & prices

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Economic impact & companies

Premium Statistic Oil and gas extraction industry value added in the U.S. 1998-2021
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Premium Statistic Supply chain issues experienced by oil and gas producers in the U.S. 2022
Supply chain issues experienced by oil and gas producers in the U.S. 2022
Oil and gas producers' outlook on raw material and personnel availability in the United States in 2022

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Key figures

The most important key figures provide you with a compact summary of the topic of "Oil industry in the U.S." and take you straight to the corresponding statistics.

U.S. oil refinery capacity
18.1m bbl/d
Detailed statistics
Oil refinery capacity in the U.S. 1970-2022
Most productive U.S. oil basin
Permian
Detailed statistics
U.S. monthly oil production 2020-2023, by oilfield
Number of rotary U.S. oil rigs at the end of 2022
621
Detailed statistics
Rotary rig count in U.S. by type 2011-2022