New wells made up about half of the oil production in the continental United States in 2015, a significant increase from previous years.
The Energy Information Administration released statistics Tuesday showing wells drilled since the beginning of 2014 made up about 48 percent of crude oil production in the U.S. during 2015. In 2007, just 22 percent of crude production came from wells drilled in the previous year.
The administration chalked this up to advances in technology and techniques, along with horizontal wells.
Horizontal wells produce large amounts of crude oil during the initial phase of production but then have a sharp drop off, according to the report.
“With steep decline rates, constant drilling and development of new wells is necessary to maintain or increase production levels,” the report said.
The increase in production comes at the same time as a sharp drop in the amount of oil rigs operating.
The collapse of oil prices since fall 2014 has seen the amount of working oil rigs drop from 1,600 to 413 by Feb. 19, according to the report.
