Crude oil production rises to highest point since 1970, bolstered by tight oil production

U.S. crude oil production rose to 10.038 million barrels per day in November, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s most recent Petroleum Supply Monthly. It was the first time since 1970 that monthly production surpassed 10 million barrels per day and was the second-highest U.S. monthly oil production amount. The record is 10.044 million barrels per day in November 1970.

In November 2017, production reached a record high of 3.89 million barrels per day in Texas, followed by 1.18 million barrels per day in North Dakota. In the Federal Gulf of Mexico, production rose 14% to 1.67 million barrels per day, from October 2017, after the region recovered from Hurricane Nate.

“U.S. crude oil production has increased significantly over the past 10 years, driven mainly by production from tight rock formations including shale and other fine-grained rock using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to improve efficiency,” according to the EIA. In November 2017, crude oil production from tight rock formations reached a record high of 5.09 million barrels per day, up from a previous high of 4.70 million barrels per day in March 2015. “These formations also produce considerable volumes of natural gas associated with the crude oil.”

Liquid production, both crude oil and condensate, from tight rock formations account for nearly 51% of total production. In November 2008, production from tight rock formations accounted for 7% of total production. Non-tight oil production has been flat over the past decade.

Tight oil production had risen steadily since 2011, but it started to decline after the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price started falling from $105 per barrel in June 2014, to $30 per barrel in February 2016. In January 2018, WTI prices were about $60 a barrel.

Despite the price fluctuations, production continue to increase in three formations in the Permian Basin ­— the Spraberry, Bone Spring and Wolfcamp plays spanning western Texas and eastern New Mexico — and in the Bakken formation in the Williston Basin in North Dakota and Montana.