US production of oil and natural gas increased last year by about 20 percent, with technical advances such as horizontal drilling offsetting a decline in the number of wells, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report on Monday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd February, 2020) US production of oil and natural gas increased last year by about 20 percent, with technical advances such as horizontal drilling offsetting a decline in the number of wells, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report on Monday.
US oil output in 2018 averaged 10.8 million barrels per day (b/d) and natural gas 94.8 billion cubic feet (Bcf/d) per day, the report said.
In November 2019, crude oil production had increased to about 12.9 million b/d and natural gas production had increased to 116.9 Bcf/d.
The report noted that output increased in the four year period leading to 2018, while the total number of wells producing crude oil and natural gas in the United States fell to 982,000, down from a peak of 1,035,000 wells in 2014.
The report attributed the trend - more fuel from fewer wells - to technical advances. EIA cited horizontal drilling as one example without mentioning fracking - a controversial practice banned in some states in which drillers use a pressurized mix of water and chemicals to break up underground rock barriers to obtain oil and natural gas.
