The U.S. beat both Saudi Arabia and Russia as the top producer of both oil and gas in 2014, the government reported Tuesday.
“U.S. hydrocarbon production continues to exceed that of both Russia and Saudi Arabia, the second- and third-largest producers, respectively,” the Energy Information Administration reported.
Most analysts had predicted that oil production would wane as the price fell, making it less economic to produce petroleum from shale wells in places such as North Dakota.
The energy administration recognized the price issue, reporting: “Despite the 50 percent decline in crude oil prices that occurred in the second half of last year, U.S. petroleum production still increased by . . . [1.6 million barrels per day] in 2014.”
Natural gas production also swelled in 2014, increasing by 5 quadrillion British thermal units, or 13.9 billion cubic feet per day, over the past five years, the administration reported.
