(The Center Square) – Last year was a record year for the Texas oil and natural gas industry, which broke its previous records for production, pipeline construction, storage, processing, refining and exports, according to an analysis published by the Texas Oil & Gas Association.
Texas crude oil production set new records in six of the past 12 months in 2024. The Texas industry produced 5.86 million barrels per day of crude oil in October 2024 – led by production in west Texas in the Permian Basin. It was the largest total on record in history.
Texas’ crude oil production represents 44% of the national total.
The Permian Basin led production growth in Texas and the U.S. last year, as in previous years. According to U.S. Energy Information Agency estimates, new production per rig-month increased in the basin by 21% year-over-year as of October 2024.
Texas also broke records for in-state crude oil supply, crude oil and condensate exports, and multiple refining outcomes, according to the report.
The Texas natural gas industry also reported a new record-high of natural gas marketed production in six of the past 12 months. Texas natural gas marketed production accounted for nearly 30% of national production last year.
The industry also exceeded 2023’s record-breaking single-month high of one trillion cubic feet six times in 2024, TXOGA notes.
The Texas LNG industry contributed more than $60 billion last year to local communities in Texas’ coastal region alone, The Center Square reported.
To transport the record volume of oil and natural gas, Texas pipeline infrastructure expanded to 465,025 miles – an increase of 13,000 miles from 2022-2023, according to the Texas Railroad Commission, the state agency that regulates the industry.
Texas’ industry is successful for several reasons, experts have explained to The Center Square. It has the support of the governor and state government, production primarily occurs on private land, minimizing federal interference, and the industry leads in technological advancements.
Throughout the Biden administration, every time a new rule, regulation or restriction was issued targeting the industry, the governor, legislature and other state leaders took action. Gov. Greg Abbott repeatedly opposed the president’s energy policies; the legislature passed numerous bills to protect it and encourage production and investment. Texas also repeatedly sued the administration, winning the majority of its cases.
“Remarkably, 2024 was yet another record-breaking year as the Texas oil and natural gas industry does its part to help reach Governor Abbott’s goal for our state’s economy to surpass France as the 7th largest economy in the world,” TXOGA president Todd Staples said. “From tax revenues and production to pipelines, storage, processing, refining, and exports, Texas’ oil and natural gas industry has achieved record-breaking performance across every sector.”
The Texas industry’s “unmatched, repeat economic performance and its associated impact do not happen by accident. Non-stop industry innovation, investment and operational efficiencies shattered another string of records in 2024,” he said.
This includes breaking records in reducing methane emissions. Numerous reports published last year, including by the EPA, showed that the U.S. oil and natural gas industry, led by the Permian Basin, continued to reduce emissions, The Center Square reported. The drop occurred as U.S. domestic producers, led by Texas, broke records over the past few years, producing “more crude oil than any country, ever,” according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, The Center Square reported.
A new S&P Global Commodity Insights analysis shows that methane emissions from oil and natural gas production operations in the Permian Basin decreased 26% in one year, equal to the total amount of carbon emissions avoided by every electric vehicle on the road in the U.S. last year, TXOGA notes.
The flaring rate in Texas dropped by 60% since 2019, with a flaring rate of less than 0.94% in August, indicating that more than 99% of natural gas produced in Texas was beneficially used, TXOGA notes. “Operators are working to eliminate routine flaring entirely by 2030, with many companies ahead of schedule,” it says.
“No one produces, transports, and refines oil and natural gas with the same commitment to safety and protecting the environment as American operators,” Staples said. “Industry-led initiatives like the Texas Methane & Flaring Coalition and The Environmental Partnership are dramatically reducing flaring and emissions and achieving environmental gains unseen anywhere else in the world.”
In addition to these records, the industry paid a record $27.3 billion in taxes and royalties in fiscal 2024, the most ever in state history and greater than the tax revenue of 34 states, The Center Square reported. It also employed more than 492,000 people but when considering all indirect and induced jobs impacted by the industry, more than two million jobs were supported by it, TXOGA says.