U.S. Proved Oil, Gas Reserves Set Record

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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released data showing U.S. proved reserves of oil and gas hit record-high levels in 2022, with Texas the clear standout in terms of oil reserves.

Federal U.S. data published Monday show total proved reserves of crude oil and natural gas hit record highs in 2022, the last full year for which the government provided statistics. The Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical arm of the DOE, found total proved reserves of crude oil and condensate increased by 9% from the prior year to reach 48.3 billion barrels.

Though U.S. crude oil production levels are among the highest in the world, proved reserves pale in comparison to Saudi Arabia, whose 259 billion barrels in proved reserves represents 15% of the world total.

By state, Texas had the most proved oil and condensate at 1.7 billion barrels, which marked a 9% increase from the prior year. That gain was also the largest net increase for any state in the union.

Texas is home to Permian Basin, the largest inland crude oil producer in the country. Production levels were around 5.2 million barrels per day (BBL/d) in 2022 and have since increased by about 1 million BBL/d.

Second after Texas was New Mexico, with 1.3 billion barrels in proved oil reserves. New Mexico hosts portions of the Permian Basin. North Dakota, home to the Bakken shale formation, was third with 1.3 billion barrels.

California, a state that helped launch a fossil fuel industry in the country, saw the largest net decrease in proved oil reserves, with a 13% drop from 2021 levels to 225 million barrels.

For natural gas, proved reserves increased by 10% from 2021 levels to reach 691 trillion cubic feet, a record level for the country. The United States is a world leader in terms of natural gas reserves, as well as production. As with proved reserves of oil in Saudi Arabia, however, the United States sits well behind the likes of Russia in terms of proved reserves of natural gas.

U.S. natural gas, nonetheless, is taking some of the market share previously held by Russia in the European Union. War-related sanctions have curbed what's available from Russia, leaving the United States to fill at least some of the gap with liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Assuming all facilities are at full capacity, the United States is the world leader in LNG exports.

By state, it was Alaska that saw the largest gain percentage wish in proved reserves in 2022, with a 25% year-on-year jump to 125.2 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of reserves, followed by Texas, with a 14% gain to 170 Tcf.

Alaska, however, is well behind shale states like Pennsylvania and Louisiana in terms of production. There are no pipelines to transport natural gas from the North Slope fields so operators tend to reinject it to help maintain a stable level of crude oil production. The EIA defines proved reserves as "estimated volumes of hydrocarbon resources that analysis of geologic and engineering data demonstrates with reasonable certainty are recoverable under existing economic and operating conditions."

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