Oil production from U.S. federal lands and waters rose 7% last year to the highest in at least a decade, while natural gas output slipped, according to soon-to-be-published U.S. data—a partial win for the Trump administration as it tries to fire up energy production on public land.
Crude oil output from federal leases averaged about 2.22 million barrels per day (bbl/d) during the 2017 fiscal year, the highest since at least 2007, and up from 2.07 million bbl/d during the 2016 fiscal year, according to the data from the Department of Interior's Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) provided to Reuters.
That increase came as total U.S. oil production, including output from private lands, rose 5% in the 2017 calendar year to 9.3 million bbl/d, near the highest since the 1970s, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The ONRR data also showed federal coal production rose in fiscal 2017 to about 333.5 million tonnes, compared to 296 million the year before, while natural gas output dipped 5% to 4.36 billion cubic feet.
President Donald Trump's administration has sought to expand energy production on public lands, which stagnated during a multi-year surge in output on private lands, by rolling back federal environmental protections such as methane emissions curbs, expanding lease sales, and trimming royalty rates.
RELATED:
EPA’s Pruitt’s Favorite Rule: Eliminate Rules
US Interior Agency Speeds Up Process To Lease Oil, Gas On Federal Land
That approach, which has angered environmentalists and land conservationists, was meant in part to help boost energy revenues to federal coffers.
The Interior Department said late last year that 2017 fiscal year disbursements from energy and minerals production on federal and tribal acreage likely totaled $7.11 billion, up nearly $1 billion from fiscal year 2016.
At that time Interior's ONRR had not yet finalized its production data.
Recommended Reading
H&E Equipment Services Acquires Precision Rentals
2024-01-09 - H&E Equipment Services’ acquisition of Precision Rentals adds approximately $70 million in original equipment to its fleet of construction rental equipment.
Analysts: Chesapeake-SWN Poised to Supply Growing Global LNG Demand
2024-01-11 - Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy are combining in a $7.4 billion merger to serve more domestic customers and access growing global LNG demand.
Potential Chesapeake, Southwestern Merger May Face Tough Scrutiny
2024-01-09 - Low natural gas prices are driving producers such as Chesapeake and Southwestern to seek large ‘strategic’ deals at a time when large-scale consolidation is coming under increased scrutiny by lawmakers and regulators.
Trio Petroleum Secures Option to Acquire 20% Interest in Asphalt Ridge
2024-01-08 - Trio Petroleum Corp. secured an option from Heavy Sweet Oil to acquire a 20% production share in the Asphalt Ridge heavy oil development project.
Defying Expectations, Solar Lures $34.3B in Corporate Funding in 2023
2024-01-23 - Corporate funding for the solar sector hit a decade high last year, but M&A activity saw a year-on-year decline, according to the Mercom Capital Group.