Texas produced 11.2 Tcf of natural gas last year, a new record, according to the Texas Association of Independent Producers and Royalty Owners (TIPRO).
Natural gas production in Texas dwarfed other states. Pennsylvania at 7.6 Tcf was the second largest producer in 2022, followed by Alaska (3.6 Tcf), Louisiana (3.6 Tcf), and Oklahoma (2.7 Tcf).
In its eighth edition of its State of Energy Report, TIPRO said the Lone Star State was also the country’s top oil producer, supplying 1.83 billion barrels to energy markets last year. New Mexico had the second highest oil production with 534 million bbls, followed by North Dakota with 393 million bbls produced.
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“Texas’ oil and natural gas industry continues to be a cornerstone of our state economy and a critical source of energy security for our country and our allies abroad,” said Ed Longanecker, president of TIPRO.
Texas also had the highest number of rigs in the country in 2022, with an average of 380 active rigs. This was more than half the total rig average in the United States. The number of rigs in Texas increased from 332 in January 2022 to 410 in December 2022.
TIPRO expects further growth this year. The report cited projections from the Energy Information Administration for a 2% increase in natural gas production by 2023. The primary driver of natural gas production growth would be drilling activity in the Haynesville region, which covers the eastern Texas and Louisiana, and the Permian Basin region. covering west Texas and southeastern New Mexico.
Jobs, jobs, jobs
TIPRO said the Texas oil and gas industry once again led the nation in industrial employment last year, accounting for 37% of all oil and gas jobs in the nation.
The industry supported a total of 347,828 direct jobs in Texas in 2022, about 25,000 more than the previous year. California was the second largest employer (80,772), followed by Louisiana (68,733), Oklahoma (46,486) and Pennsylvania (33,079), according to TIPRO.
“Despite facing a number of unique challenges, including supply chain bottlenecks, inflationary pressures, labor shortages, and an adversarial federal policy environment, the US oil and gas industry. continued to provide significant financial support in 2022,” said Jud Walker, President of TIPRO. “Oil and natural gas development, led by Texas operators, will play an important role in meeting the growing global demand for energy for decades to come in any realistic scenario.”
According to TIPRO, the oil and gas industry supported a total of 948,943 direct jobs in the US last year, with the total direct and indirect jobs tied to the industry exceeding 19 million.
The US oil and natural gas sector paid a national median annual wage of $120,665 during 2022, 74% more than median private sector wages. Total US goods and services purchased in 2022 by the oil and natural gas industry exceeded $744 billion across more than 900 business sectors.
Texas had the highest oil and gas payroll in the country in 2022 ($48 billion), with California a distant second ($11 billion), followed by Louisiana ($7.6 billion). Texas had the most oil and gas companies in the nation last year with 12,306, three times the number of oil and gas companies in second-place Oklahoma.
Meanwhile, total US goods and services purchased by the Texas oil and natural gas industry topped $264 billion last year. The Texas oil and natural gas industry also paid a record $24.7 billion in state taxes and state royalty payments in 2022, according to TIPRO.