America's Oil Boom

Hi, today we explore: How America became the world's most prolific oil producer. TOGETHER WITH Hello! Today's deep dive is a 3-chart tour of how America quietly became the largest producer of oil the world has ever seen. Today’s Chartr is brought to you by [Incogni, the personal information removal service]( from Surfshark. Incogni’s game is [wiping your data]( from data broker directories and people search sites to make sure scammers don’t get there first.* [Read this on the web instead]( Digging deeper America’s fossil fuel industry is booming. Indeed, no country in the history of our planet has pulled crude oil out of the ground at the pace of the United States over the last 6 years. Data released by the US [Energy Information Administration (EIA)]( on Monday reported that the US produced the equivalent of 12.9 million barrels of crude oil and condensate per day last year, 28% more than the world’s previous top producer, Russia, and 33% more than even the oil-rich Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Production in December notched an even higher mark: 13.3 million barrels per day. Reversing the flow The modern petroleum industry can trace its roots — or wells — back to the 1850s when [Edwin Drake]( dug a ~70 foot oil hole in Pennsylvania and started pumping up to 20 barrels a day of what would come to be known as black gold. But, despite getting a head start on much of the rest of the world, the US was a relatively small player in global oil for much of the 20th century. Indeed, were you to transport someone from the oil-importing heyday of the year 2000 to the present day, they’d scarcely believe that the US had become a net exporter of oil ([chart here)]( let alone become a dominant force in a market that, despite the best efforts of renewable scientists, remains the most important global energy source. Frack to the future The shale revolution is credited with much of the progress in America’s newfound oil boom, as hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) unlocked a wave of previously inaccessible, or at least uneconomical, oil and gas reserves. [Fracking]( involves forcing liquid — usually water mixed with sand and chemicals — into fissures in shale rock, cracking and expanding the gaps, allowing the once-trapped oil and gas to find its way to the surface. As fracking got more efficient, it wasn’t just the crude oil industry that benefited: America’s natural gas production has also exploded over the last 15 years. Gassed up Oil and natural gas now join the ranks of heavy machinery, semiconductors, and cultural exports like TV & movies, as one of America’s most important trading markets. In December 2023, the US exported ~400bn cubic feet more natural gas than it imported, a dramatic shift from a decade earlier. Driving much of the boom is America’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export industry, which — as recently as 2015 — [basically didn’t exist](. By liquefying the gas, at a frosty -260° Fahrenheit, shipping and storage becomes a lot easier, with the volume of natural gas in its liquid state roughly [1/600th of the volume]( in its gaseous state — enabling the result of America’s newfound fracking success to be shipped all over the world. Upheaval in energy markets, particularly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, further boosted demand for American LNG. Indeed, over the past 2 years more than 60% of US LNG exports have found their way to [Europe]( where buyers have been looking to replace lost supply from Russia. The overall result? From what was pretty much a standing start at the beginning of 2016, America’s LNG industry is now shattering records, with the US becoming the [largest exporter of LNG in 2023]( unseating Australia and Qatar. [Sponsored by Incogni]( Get it deleted, not defrauded Financial fraud can happen to just about anyone. Take the New York Magazine columnist who was scammed out of $50k by fraudsters. A financial advice columnist, that is. It’s not just spotting the scam that counts — it’s the amount of data scammers have access to. Data brokers will happily sell your data to cybercriminals for a few dollars. Of course, you can remove your profile from these dangerous databases… or you can [leave it to the experts at Incogni](. They’ll handle the data deletion requests and keep you updated until all your data is wiped. Don’t leave fraud up to fate — get an [annual Incogni subscription]( to keep your info off data broker databases for good. Chartr readers can take [55% off with code CHARTR](. [Get 55% off Incogni annual plans]( Rigged One of the most striking things about America’s ongoing fossil fuel boom is that the industry has learned to do [more with less](. To get a sense of whether US oil production was likely to rise or fall, you used to be able to look at the number of drilling rigs — the towering steel structures that dig wells and adorn oil-rich regions like the Permian basin in Texas. However, despite the production upswing, the number of crude oil rigs has actually fallen, to about one-third of what it was a [decade ago](. Advancements in fracking, as well as new “horizontal drilling” techniques — that can spread more than [3 miles]( underground in one direction — has enabled the industry to increase output without the need for additional rigs. Independence decade The “shale revolution" has not only dramatically transformed global oil markets — and made a lot of people a lot of money — it has also shifted the sands that underlie global power structures. Although it would be a simplification to suggest “America doesn’t need anyone else’s oil or gas”, the fact remains that a thriving energy sector gives American leaders a stronger hand when negotiating on the world stage, as well as the ability to step in for allies when supply from volatile regimes is [lost or blocked](. We’d be remiss not to mention the elephant in the room: that global temperatures are breaking records at an exhausting pace ([chart here]( just as America’s fossil fuel sector expands. Indeed, in addition to the emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, fracking itself is also notoriously thirsty work. Energy giants are now drilling not only for oil, but also for the billions of [gallons of water]( they need to frack effectively. Furthermore, on Wednesday a [new study]( published in Nature found that the methane emissions — that are responsible for around one-third of global warming — from US oil and gas producing regions were roughly triple previous government estimates. A change is gonna come, but it’s coming slowly. [Sponsored by Incogni]( Not every scam is a story We’ve all heard the headlines… but fraud happens more frequently than you might think. In 2023 alone, 2.6 million people were victims of fraud — partially due to the sheer amount of personal info scammers can access. That’s where [Incogni can help you]( keep your data safe. Incogni finds your profiles on data broker sites, gets them wiped, and makes sure it stays that way. Instead of spending hours filing data deletion requests, [join Incogni with code CHARTR]( to take 55% off an annual subscription. [Read or share this story on the web]( *Sponsored content from Incogni. Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow! Have some [feedback](mailto:daily@chartr.co?subject=Feedback&body=Hi%2C%0A%0AI%20like%20the%20newsletters%2C%20but%20I%20had%20a%20thought%20for%20you...) or want to [sponsor]( this newsletter? Not a subscriber? Sign up for free below. [Subscribe]( Copyright © 2024 CHARTR LIMITED, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: CHARTR LIMITED 231 Vauxhall Bridge RoadLondon, SW1V 1AD United Kingdom [Add us to your address book]( Don't want charts in your inbox anymore? Break our hearts and [unsubscribe](.