Changes in drilling techniques and technology now mean that more crude oil and natural gas can be produced using fewer wells.

Evidence comes from new data released by the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration (EIA). In 2018, while production was increasing, the total number of wells producing crude oil and natural gas fell to 982,000, down from a peak of 1,035,000 wells in 2014.

Source: EIAEIA said that wells classified as non-horizontal — most of which are vertical wells — have decreased 10%, from 935,000 in 2014 to 842,000 in 2018. While horizontal wells are relatively less common, they are growing as a share of the total; the 99,000 horizontal wells drilled in 2014 accounted for 10% of the total. In 2018, 140,000 horizontal wells accounted for 14% of total wells drilled.

Source: EIAHorizontal wells are more expensive to drill than vertical wells, but they contact more reservoir rock and produce greater volumes. Although 1% of vertical wells produced at least 100 barrels per day of crude oil in 2018, 32% of horizontal wells produced at least 100 barrels per day. As horizontal wells became more common, production growth continued as the well count fell, EIA said.

Even with fewer wells, U.S. oil production grew from 8.8 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2014 to 10.8 million b/d in 2018. During that same period, U.S. natural gas production (measured as gross withdrawals) rose from about 78.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) to 94.8 Bcf/d.

In November 2019, crude oil production had increased to about 12.9 million b/d and natural gas production had increased to 116.9 Bcf/d.