Due largely to the widespread use of hydraulic fracturing and the resulting boom in shale oil operations, oil production in Texas has exploded in recent years.
In March, production in the lone star state reached a staggering 74 million barrels of crude, the highest level since 1984. Output has doubled in less than three years, from a low of 31 million barrels in 2010. If Texas were a country it would be one of the top 15 largest oil producers in the world, on a par with the likes of OPEC members Venezuela, Kuwait, and Nigeria.
Crude oil production in Texas over the years. (Fuelfix)
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The oil boom has brought without huge expansion in the local economy, with wages soaring, and a population boom as people flock to the area to occupy the growing number of jobs offered by the oil industry.
According to the latest Baker Hughes rig count, with a total of 835 drilling rigs operating in Texas, nearly 25% of all rigs in the world, it doesn't seem as though the expansion shows no sign of abating. Especially as the Cline Shale formation, which has the potential to dwarf the Eagle Ford with an estimated 3.6 million barrels of oil per square mile, starts to be developed.
In total the United States produced 221 million of Crude oil in April, with over a third of that coming from Texas.
By. Joao Peixe of Oilprice.com
Joao is a writer for Oilprice.com More