According to the Texas Independent Producers Royalty Owners Association, the state’s production of crude oil has broken a record set back in the 1970s. Production in 2018 touched 1.54 billion barrels of oil, upsetting the previous record set in 1973, in which production was 1.28 billion barrels. Texas natural gas production for the year rose aggressively, as well, reaching about 9 trillion cubic feet.
Texas Sets the Record
With the government working with private oil and gas drillers, Texas is the #1 state in the nation in the production of oil and natural gas. According to the Sigma Drilling Technologies, a leader in pulsation control equipment and suction stabilizer equipment, technological advancements have been largely responsible for the impressive rise in the state’s oil production.
The 1973 record would have been broken in 2017, when production reached 1.6 billion barrels. It stopped just shy of 1973 number, however. The production high of 2018, however, was reached in spite of a 40 percent drop in prices during the last three months of the year.
The oil and natural gas industry of Texas, in addition to raising production to record levels, grew in manpower as well. It ended the year 2018 with about 40 percent of the manpower employed by the entire national industry. There were 27,000 new jobs added in the Texas oil and natural gas industry that year. The industries of Oklahoma, New Mexico, North Dakota and Colorado followed Texas.
Gaining Perspective
The figure that the Texas oil production record represents is an awe-inspiring one, and can be hard to get in perspective. According to a report by HSBC, if Texas were an oil-producing country, rather than a state, it would rank third in the world after Russia and Saudi Arabia. At the core of the Texas oil production industry is the Permian Basin, an oil-bearing formation that straddles West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. At about 300 miles long and 250 miles wide, it contains specific areas such as the Delaware Basin that have recently been found to contain far greater reserves than known before. The production of Texas is likely to turn America into a net energy exporter by next year, and carry on in this fashion for the next 30 years.
Texas & the Global Oil Industry
U.S. oil production abilities have changed the way the world’s oil industry operates. When America’s oil production rose around the year 2014, it caught Saudi Arabia, Russia and the rest of the OPEC+ cartel off-guard. Back then, Saudi Arabia tried to raise production to drive American shale producers out of business. However, what the action did, in reality, was to push Saudi oil income down, driving their economy to disaster.
As is well-known, oil prices sank to about $30 a barrel in 2016. It was then that Saudi Arabia reached out to Russia to try to form an expanded cartel known as OPEC+. It was an attempt to gain control of the situation. What Saudi Arabia could do single-handedly at one time, it now needs Russia’s help to achieve.
Even today, with each surge in Texan oil production, the state does make it difficult for others around the world to export at a profit. This forces OPEC+ to cut back on production in order to keep prices afloat.
Learn More About Sigma’s Innovative Systems
Sigma Drilling Technologies offers revolutionary and innovative systems that allow oil and gas drilling rigs to realize greater efficiency while achieving superior performance. Our products will change the way you look at pulsation control for your pump. To request a free demonstration, call us at (281) 656-9298 or complete our online contact form.
