| The Geographic Distribution of Oil Wealth in Texas | |
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The gold rush days of the oil and gas industry in Texas are history. The famous East Texas fields are depleted and the state's reserves have dwindled with more than a century of drilling and pumping. But even the industry crash of the 1980s did not end the state's love affair with black gold. New drilling in west Texas and elsewhere, development of existing and newly discovered gas deposits, and technological advances have spurred new or renewed exploration, development, and production. Texas today is the largest oil and gas producer among the states. In 2003, the state produced 364 million barrels of oil (19.4% of the U.S. total) and 5,166 billion cubic feet of natural gas (26.6%). As of 2003, Texas also contained larger shares of U.S. reserves than any other state: 4,583 million barrels of oil (20.9%) and 45,730 billion cubic feet of gas (24.2%). The state's refineries in turn produced more than a quarter of the nation's total petrochemical and fuel supply as of 2004. |
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| Source: Census Bureau; EIA. (full source) | |
Full Footnote: Average county per capita oil production in Texas in 2004 was about 385 barrels of oil and gas equivalent per person.
Like the U.S. oil industry, the Railroad Commission measures oil production in barrels (bbl). A barrel is 42 gallons. Natural gas production is measured in thousands of cubic feet (mcf). Measurement of the energy content of standard units of oil and gas permits comparison of the quantities of oil and gas produced. To map Texas oil and gas production, gas output was converted from cubic feet to barrels using heat content measured in British thermal units (Btu). According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), one barrel of oil equals approximately 5.8 million btu. One cubic foot of natural gas equals 1,031 btu. Thus, one mcf of natural gas equals approximately 0.178 bbl of oil.
Total oil production here is the sum of oil and condensate production from Texas Railroad Commission figures. Condensate is a natural gas liquid recovered from gas wells and reported in barrels of 42 U.S. gallons at atmospheric pressure and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Total natural gas production from Texas Railroad Commission figures is the sum of gas from gas wells as well as casinghead gas, a byproduct of oil production, both reported in units of thousands of cubic feet.
Figures on Texas production and reserves as a share of the national totals do not include oil and gas found in Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico off Texas shores. In 2003, Federal waters off Texas produced 59 million barrels of oil and 1,062 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Reserves were estimated at 303 milion barrels of oil and 5,331 billion cubic feet of gas. Information on oil and gas production and reserves (2003) and refining capacity (2004) is from the EIA. See sources.