Oil production in the USA has reached a record level

Oil production in the United States has reached a record level. In September, American oil companies produced 13.2 million barrels of oil per day, which is higher than the level of production in Russia and Saudi Arabia.

The increase in oil production was a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, as a result of which the price of a barrel of oil exceeded 100 dollars for the first time in almost a decade. This became an incentive for drilling new wells, which are now starting to work at full capacity. Analysts predict a continued increase in oil production by 500,000 barrels per day next year. Natural gas production rose to a record level in August.

The United States now exports about 4 million barrels of oil per day, becoming one of the world’s largest oil exporters. European and Asian countries became the main buyers of American oil. Increasing supplies of American oil and natural gas helped prevent a crisis situation in the European energy market last winter.

The increase in production and the drop in oil prices have important political consequences, observers note. This strengthened the position of the Biden administration in relations with Russia, Venezuela and Iran and saved it from the need to rely on Saudi Arabia as a partner in stabilizing world oil prices. Gasoline prices in the United States have fallen by almost 40 percent since the middle of last year, which is an important argument in Joe Biden’s election campaign.

Contrary to pre-election promises to ban the extraction of energy resources on federal lands, President Biden sanctioned new large-scale oil production projects in Alaska. His administration also issued a small number of offshore drilling licenses. Environmental organizations criticized this decision of Joe Biden.