According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the US crude oil production grew by 11% in 2019, reaching a record level of 12.2 md/d. This growth was spurred by the rising production from tight rock formations using hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") and horizontal drilling. US crude oil production has more than doubled during the past ten years.
Texas, whose crude oil production has increased fourfold (+333%) since 2010, accounted for 41% of the total US crude oil production, with an average production of 5.07 mb/d in 2019. This growth was driven the Permian region, which represented more than half of the total increase in crude oil production. This higher production in the Permian region also raised output in New Mexico (20% of the total US production increase). US crude oil production also increased in the Gulf of Mexico, the second largest oil producing region in the United States in 2019, as 7 new projects were brought online during the year; another 9 are expected in 2020. Meanwhile, crude oil production declined in Alaska for the second year in a row and in California for the fifth year in a row.
The US EIA expects crude oil production to continue to progress in 2020, thanks to new projects in the Permian region of Texas and New Mexico.