The U.S. last year posted the biggest increase in oil production in the world and the largest increase in U.S. history, unleashing a surge of fresh crude supplies that are helping restrain global oil prices and advance U.S. foreign-policy goals.
Oil production in the U.S. jumped 14% last year to 8.9 million barrels per day, according to the newly released annual BP statistical review. That production, spurred primarily by the development of new tight-oil fields such as those in North Dakota, helped offset supply shocks in other oil-producing countries.
“The growth in U.S. output was a major factor in keeping oil prices from rising sharply, despite a second consecutive year of large oil supply disruptions,” said BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley.
The boom in the U.S. and Canadian oil patch contrasts sharply with developments in many big oil-producing countries such as Mexico, Nigeria, Brazil and Venezuela, where output fell. Canadian production, spurred by both traditional crude production and the development of oil sands, grew almost 7%.
