Energizing Texas
Mark Green
Posted September 22, 2016
One way to look at oil and natural gas production in Texas – it leads the 50 states in both – is that if Texas were its own country it would rank in the top 10 among the nations of the world in oil and gas output. Texas is its own energy giant.
Click on the thumbnail for a two-page energy infographic for the Lone Star State.
In 2015, Texas crude oil output was 1.26 billion barrels, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Texas produced 7.8 trillion cubic feet of marketed natural gas last year.
State oil production during the ongoing U.S. energy renaissance – harnessing oil and natural gas from shale and other tight-rock formations through hydraulic fracturing – grew nearly 200 percent from 2000 to 2015. It’s a credit to vast shale plays – the Barnett, Eagle Ford and Permian Basin plays – and lots of private investment.
Texas also hosts 27 petroleum refineries with a capacity of more than 5.1 million barrels per day, accounting for approximately 29 percent of U.S. refining capacity, EIA says.
Certainly, Texas is a leading reason the United States is the world’s No. 1 producer of oil and natural gas, which has boosted our economy and made our country more secure in the world. Sustaining and increasing that output depends on implementing pro-development policies that will foster safe and responsible exploration and production. Page 2 of the infographic shows the benefits of such policies, as well as the potential negative effects of policies characterized by regulatory constraints.
Energy is essential for virtually every aspect of our daily lives. It powers national, state and local economies, gets us to work and goes into products we rely on for health and comfort. Safe, responsible energy development here at home is linked to national security as well as Americans’ individual prosperity and liberty – in Texas and all the 50 states of energy.
About The Author
Mark Green joined API after a career in newspaper journalism, including 16 years as national editorial writer for The Oklahoman in the paper’s Washington bureau. Previously, Mark was a reporter, copy editor and sports editor at an assortment of newspapers. He earned his journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma and master’s in journalism and public affairs from American University. He and his wife Pamela have two grown children and six grandchildren.