U.S. Energy Information Administration said the nation’s crude oil production averaged 13.3 million barrels per day in December because of sustained productivity increases at new wells. In its Petroleum Supply Monthly, the EIA said, “U.S. crude oil production has increased to record highs since 2010 and has risen even more quickly in recent months. These record highs have come despite declining U.S. drilling activity because the new wells are more efficient.”
Advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have increased well productivity to enable U.S. producers to extract more crude oil from new wells drilled while maintaining production from legacy wells. EIA defines new-well production as crude oil extracted during the first 12 months of production; legacy production is crude oil extracted after the first 12 months. The share of legacy production since 2021 has remained stable while production from new wells has continued to increase.