Crude Oil Production: OPEC Members vs. Key U.S. Producing States

This chart ranks crude oil production by OPEC member country alongside individual U.S. states, illustrating the scale of American output relative to the international producers’ group. U.S. crude oil production rose to 11.9 million barrels per day (MBD) in 2022 from 5 MBD in 2008, an annualized growth rate of 6.4%, driven by the combination of hydraulic fracturing and lateral drilling techniques.

Three states — Texas, New Mexico, and North Dakota — have been the primary beneficiaries of these technologies, contributing more than 91% of U.S. production growth. A second tier of six states — Alaska, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming — accounts for most of the remainder.

Within that second tier, the trajectories diverge. Combined output from Colorado, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming grew from 660 thousand barrels per day (TBD) in 2008 to 1.3 MBD in 2022, an annualized rate of 5%. Over the same period, California and Alaska’s combined output declined from 1.3 MBD to 775 TBD, an annual rate of -3.5%.

Placed against OPEC members’ production, Texas would easily rank second, while the group of second-tier producers and New Mexico would fall in the middle of the field.

From the EPRINC Chart of the Week archive.