Five States Accounted for about 56% of Total U.S. Crude Oil Production in 2011

EIA, Today in Energy, Mar 14, 2012

[Click on chart to enlarge]

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Monthly.
Note: Production data includes crude oil and lease condensate. Download CSV Data

Combined oil production (crude oil and lease condensate) from the top five U.S. oil-producing states increased during 2011 (see chart above). The biggest gains were in North Dakota and Texas, due in large part to increased horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing activity. Texas, Alaska, California, North Dakota, and Oklahoma accounted for about 56% of U.S. oil production last year, according to EIA's February Petroleum Supply Monthly report.

Highlights from the top oil-producing states in 2011 included:

• Texas. The Eagle Ford shale formation in south Texas contributed to gains in the state's oil production, which averaged 1,425 thousand barrels per day (bbl/d), the highest level since 1997. [Update: for the Eagle Ford production, please my post/remarks here -- D.R.]   
• Alaska. Oil production fell for the ninth year in row, averaging 563 thousand bbl/d.
• California. Oil production averaged 535 thousand bbl/d, the lowest level in at least three decades.
• North Dakota. Preliminary data indicate increasing oil production from the Bakken formation pushed North Dakota ahead of California in December as the third biggest oil-producing state. North Dakota's oil production averaged 535 thousand bbl/d in December 2011 and 419 thousand bbl/d for the year.
• Oklahoma. Oil production averaged 204 thousand bbl/d during 2011, topping 200 thousand bbl/d for the first time since 1998.

[Click on chart to enlarge]

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Monthly.
Note: Production data includes crude oil and lease condensate. Download CSV Data [Full story]

(Also, please see "United States: Top 8 Crude Oil Producing States, 2006-Feb.2011." North Dakota has overtaken California as the third-largest oil-producing state in the nation. Production totals released [...] by both states show North Dakota pumped 16.9 million barrels of oil in January [2012], compared with California's 15.8 million barrels. North Dakota had a daily average of 546,000 barrels, besting California by more than 36,000 barrels---please see newsok.com Mar 8, 2012. Update: Crude oil output in North Dakota reached a record high in February [2012] as a mild winter boosted activity in the Bakken shale prospect, bringing the state closer to overtaking Alaska as the second-largest oil producer in the country. North Dakota crude oil production rose by about 12,000 barrels per day (bpd), to more than 558,000 bpd, data from the state regulator showed [...], affirming the state's position as the third-largest producing state in the union after Texas and Alaska---please see Reuters, Apr 11, 2012 Update 2: North Dakota passed Alaska in March 2012 to become the second-leading state in crude oil production, trailing only Texas---please see my post "North Dakota Tops Alaska in Oil Production, Trailing Only Texas."-- D.R.)