Texas crude oil production breaks 1970s record

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Report: Texas crude oil production breaks 1970s record
By Sergio Chapa, Houston Chronicle

Published 8:01 am CST, Monday, February 11, 2019

A worker walks across a pad site where a drilling rig will create three to six wells next to each other at a Chevron drilling and hydraulic fracturing site Wednesday, July 19, 2017 in Midland. A new report shows that the 1.54 billion barrels of crude oil produced in 2018 broke a previous record set of 1.28 barrels set in 1973.

Crude oil production in Texas has beaten a previous record set in the 1970s, a new report from the Texas Independent Producers Royalty Owners Association stated.

Texas oil wells produced more than 1.54 billion barrels of crude in 2018, beating the previous record of 1.28 billion barrels set in 1973, TIPRO reported in its annual "State of Energy Report" early Monday morning.

Natural gas production also grew, reaching 8.8 trillion cubic feet in 2018, the report stated.

"As the national leader in oil and natural gas production, Texas is paving the way for America's energy independence," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in statement in response to the report. "From technological advancements resulting in increased oil and natural gas output to our LNG export facilities, the Lone Star State's energy economy is firing on all cylinders. As Governor, I will continue to work with our independent oil and gas producers to take our economy to even greater heights."

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Crude oil production reached 1.26 billion barrels in 2017 – just shy of breaking the 1973 record, Railroad Commission of Texas figures show.

Oil companies reached their record production figures in 2018 despite a 40 percent commodity price drop during the fourth quarter.

"I'm grateful for the leadership and tenacity of the men and women in this industry to fuel our economy, provide jobs and pay significant tax revenue for our roads, water and education infrastructure," Railroad Commission Chairman Christi Craddick said in a statement in response to TIPRO's report.

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In addition to record production numbers, the oil and natural gas industry also grew in employment numbers.

The industry finished 2018 employing 880,681 people, a 5 percent increase over 2017 employment figure, TIPRO reported. Texas accounted for more than 352,000 of those jobs, or about 40 percent, TIRPO reported.

With more than 27,000 new oil and natural gas jobs added, Texas experienced the largest industry gains in 2018, followed by Oklahoma 5,266; New Mexico with 3,626; North Dakota with 2,808 and Colorado with 2,282.

"The favorable business environment, environmental stewardship and science based approach to regulatory oversight in Texas is a model for all oil and gas producing states," TIPRO Chairman Eugene Garcia said in a statement.