As a result of the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) revolution, US oil and natural gas production have been rising for several years. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), US oil production has risen by 27% over the past 5 years.
In reviewing the data for individual states, I came across some interesting trivia. So I decided to put together a little quiz. The data source is the EIA. A table showing the Top 15 states with the highest percentage increases in oil production follows the quiz. Answers are at the end.
1. Which state had the largest percentage increase in oil production over the past 5 years?
a. Texas
b. North Dakota
c. Colorado
d. Oklahoma
2. Which state had the largest volume increase in oil production over the past 5 years?
a. Texas
b. North Dakota
c. Alaska
d. Oklahoma
3. Which of the following states reported no oil production over the past 5 years?
a. Arizona
b. New York
c. Florida
d. Tennessee
4. Which state had the largest percentage decline in oil production over the past 5 years?
a. Louisiana
b. California
c. Montana
d. Alaska
5. Which of the following states had the highest average oil production over the past 5 years?
a. North Dakota
b. California
c. Louisiana
d. Oklahoma
Here are the Top 15 percentage increases in oil production from 2007 to 2012.
Oil Production Increases in US States from 2007 to 2012 (Source: Energy Information Administration).
Answers
1. North Dakota’s oil production increased by a whopping 435% between 2007 and 2012. Colorado ranked second with an 86% increase over the 5-year period.
2. North Dakota gets the most press due to the oil boom there, but Texas has increased oil production by 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) over the past 5 years, versus 540,000 bpd for North Dakota.
3. Arizona is the only one of these states that reported no oil production over the past 5 years. Production in the other 3 states was modest, but New York, Florida, and Tennessee all reported some oil production in each of the past 5 years.
4. While all 4 of these states saw declines in their oil production over the past 5 years, Alaska’s 27% decline was the largest decline among all 50 states.
5. Although California’s oil production has been declining, it actually averaged a higher level of production than North Dakota, Louisiana, or Oklahoma over the previous 5-year period. California’s 554,000 bpd of average daily production over the past 5 years trailed only Texas’ 1.4 million bpd and Alaska’s 603,000 bpd. However, as of 2012 California had slipped behind North Dakota, but was slightly ahead of Alaska.
