US Oil and Gas Production and the Shale Revolution, 2000 to 2023

Key figures

• US crude oil production rose 159%, from 5 million barrels per day in 2008 to 12.9 million in 2023, driven by shale oil.
• Natural gas production rose 88% from 2009 to 2023, while conventional gas production halved.
• Shale gas grew from 1.2 to 30.7 quadrillion Btu between 2000 and 2023, and shale oil from 0.7 to 17.5.
• Shale’s share of oil production rose from 6% to 65%, and of gas production from 6% to 78%.

All figures are from the graphic, made by Ehsan Soltani of Econovis, which cites the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

US oil and gas production in text

Title: The Shale Revolution. Subtitle: Reshaping the U.S. Oil and Gas Industry.

Oil summary (pumpjack icon): “Following three decades of decline, U.S. crude oil production soared 159% from 5 million bpd in 2008 to 12.9 million bpd in 2023, propelled by shale oil output.”

Gas summary (flame icon): “Post four decades of stagnation, natural gas production increased 88% from 2009 to 2023, fueled by shale gas growth, while conventional production halved.”

Chart 1: U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production by Source (Quadrillion Btu), a stacked area chart from 2000 to 2023. Values are printed at each end.

Events marked on chart 1:

A note below the chart reads: “1970-2008: Crude oil production fell by almost half, and reached its lowest point since 1946. Natural gas production was unchanged.”

Chart 2: Share of Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production, 2000 to 2023. For oil, conventional falls from 94% to 35% and shale rises from 6% to 65%. For gas, conventional falls from 94% to 22% and shale rises from 6% to 78%. On the chart the shale line crosses the conventional line around 2012 for gas and around 2015 for oil.

Footer: Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Research and visualization: Ehsan Soltani. www.econovis.net, @econovisuals.

What the EIA says about record US output

The EIA reports that US crude oil production, including condensate, averaged 12.9 million barrels per day in 2023, breaking the previous US and world record of 12.3 million set in 2019, and that the US has produced more crude oil than any country for six years in a row [2]. That matches the chart’s 2018 label, “U.S. becomes top oil producer”.

The EIA also confirms the long decline before the shale era. US production peaked at 9.6 million barrels per day in 1970, then generally fell to a low of 5.0 million in 2008. It began rising again in 2009 as producers applied hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, and the only break in growth since then came in 2020 and 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic [2]. In recent years the Permian Basin in western Texas and eastern New Mexico has driven the growth in both oil and gas [2].

How much US oil and gas comes from shale

The EIA’s own estimates for 2023 are close to the chart’s end points. About 78% of US dry natural gas production, 37.87 trillion cubic feet, came from shale formations [3]. About 3.04 billion barrels of crude oil, or 8.32 million barrels per day, came directly from tight oil resources, about 64% of total US crude production [4]. The chart’s 65% for shale oil is one point higher, which may reflect its use of energy content (Btu) rather than barrels.

Notes on this infographic

• Chart 1 measures energy content in quadrillion Btu, so oil, gas and natural gas plant liquids can be stacked together. The summary boxes use barrels per day for oil and percentages for gas.
• The chart is drawn as a stream graph, centred rather than starting from zero, so the height of each band shows its size but the bands do not sit on a common baseline.
• The total in the table above (35.9 to 74.5 quadrillion Btu, roughly double) is our sum of the printed values.
• Data date and source: EIA data to 2023. The shale gas share matches the EIA’s 78%; the shale oil share is 65% on the chart against the EIA’s 64% [3] [4].

Questions about US oil and gas production

How much crude oil does the US produce per day?

US crude oil production averaged 12.9 million barrels per day in 2023, up 159% from 5 million in 2008, according to the graphic. The EIA says this broke the previous US and world record of 12.3 million barrels per day, set in 2019 [2]. Shale oil drove the rise, growing from 0.7 to 17.5 quadrillion Btu between 2000 and 2023.

When did the US become the world's largest oil producer?

The graphic marks 2018 as the year the US became the top oil producer. The EIA reports that the US has produced more crude oil than any country for six years in a row, with a record 12.9 million barrels per day in 2023 [2]. In recent years the Permian Basin in western Texas and eastern New Mexico has driven the growth [2].

How much US natural gas comes from shale?

About 78% of US dry natural gas production in 2023, or 37.87 trillion cubic feet, came from shale formations, according to the EIA [3]. The graphic shows the shale share of gas rising from 6% in 2000 to 78% in 2023. Over the same period conventional gas fell from 19.7 to 8.5 quadrillion Btu.

Why did US oil production rise after 2008?

US oil production began rising again in 2009 as producers applied hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, the EIA says [2]. Production had peaked at 9.6 million barrels per day in 1970 and then generally fell to a low of 5.0 million in 2008 [2]. The only break in growth since came in 2020 and 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic [2].

Sources

1. Econovis, The Shale Revolution, Reshaping the U.S. Oil and Gas Industry. The original post of this graphic.
2. U.S. Energy Information Administration, United States produces more crude oil than any country, ever, Today in Energy, 11 March 2024.
3. U.S. Energy Information Administration, How much shale gas is produced in the United States?
4. U.S. Energy Information Administration, How much shale (tight) oil is produced in the United States?

Last reviewed 30 October 2026