U.S. Set New Records for Oil and Natural Gas Production in 2018: EIA

Year-over-year increases in U.S. proved reserves resulted in record-high levels of crude oil and lease condensate, up 12 percent, and natural gas up 9 percent in 2018, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Proved Reserves, Year-End 2018 report. Strong oil and natural gas prices in 2018 drove the increase in oil and natural gas proved reserves in the United States to these record levels.

Texas saw the largest net increase in natural gas proved reserves of all states in 2018 (22.9 trillion cubic feet (Tcf)) with the largest share of the increase coming from the Wolfcamp/Bone Spring shale play in the Permian Basin. The next largest gain in natural gas proved reserves in 2018 was in Pennsylvania (14.2 Tcf), with the largest share of the increase coming from the Marcellus shale play of the Appalachian Basin.

Proved reserves are those volumes of oil and natural gas that geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty to be recoverable in future years from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions.