Notes: Productivity is measured as the number of barrels produced per foot of drilling. Production is measured in barrels of oil equivalent—a unit based on the approximate energy released by burning one barrel of crude oil and a way of combining both oil and gas production into a single measure. In recent years, oil and gas production has largely been driven by additional natural gas production. Gray bars denote National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)-defined recessions.
Sources: Baker Hughes (Haver Analytics), Energy Information Administration, Enverus, NBER, and authors’ calculations.
U.S. oil and gas production has risen steadily over the past decade due in large part to increased drilling productivity. Typically, increases in production are thought to come from a higher number of active drilling rigs. However, for much of the past decade, the number of rigs (orange line) has remained below its 2000 level. Instead, the increase in production (green line) has been driven largely by improved drilling productivity (blue line). The number of barrels of oil produced per foot of drilling has more than doubled since 2014. To learn more, read our Economic Bulletin.
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