U.S. led global oil & gas production in 2020, EIA study shows

The United States produced more oil and gas than any other country in 2020, a trend that started in 2014 and continued despite year-on-year declines from record high production in 2019, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported recently.

U.S. oil and gas output last year reached 66.9 quadrillion British thermal units (quads), more than both Russia’s output of 45.5 quads and Saudi Arabia’s 26.5 quads, the EIA reported.

A rapid decline in worldwide demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to a decline in production last year from all three countries. Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to cut oil production as part of an OPEC + agreement, but producers in the U.S. cut output in response to a decline in oil prices and, to a lesser extent, unplanned outages.

Total petroleum includes several types of liquid fuels, condensate and natural gas plant liquids. U.S. petroleum production fell from 31.8 quads in 2019 to 30.4 quads in 2020.

But natural gas production showed less of a decline in production than petroleum liquids, the EIA reported. IN Russia, a milder than normal temperatures during the 2020-2021 winter led to a decline in natural gas production. Natural gas production in Russia fell by 2.1 quads, slightly less than its decline of 2.3 quads in oil production, the EIA reported.