Crude output on US public lands rises as gas falls

OREANDA-NEWS. July 21, 2015. Crude and condensate production on US federal and Indian lands rose by 7pc in fiscal year (FY) 2014 over the previous year, even as natural gas output continued a steep decline.

The US shale boom has upended energy producers' reliance on public lands. Oil production from US public lands still is titled heavily toward activity in the federal waters of the outer continental shelf, albeit less so than in previous years. Gas production has migrated largely to state and private lands where shale formations are located, US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data show.

US crude and lease condensate production on federal and Indian lands rose by 47mn bl to 707mn bl in the year ending on 30 September 2014, spurred by increased output in the US Gulf of Mexico, North Dakota and New Mexico, the EIA said in a report released on 17 July. That was up from 660mn in 2013.

That was the highest oil production on public lands since 2010, when output reached 737mn bl. And 2014 production topped the 12-year average by 8pc.

Oil production in federal waters rose by 26mn bl, or by 5pc, to 502mn bl, up from 476mn bl. Federal onshore increased by 12mn bl or 9pc and Indian lands by 10mn bl or 22pc.

Since 2003, offshore crude and condensate production has dropped by 77mn bl or 13pc. So the offshore last year accounted for 71pc of production on federal and Indian lands, down from 84pc back in 2003. But over the 12-year period onshore federal and Indian lands production rose by 86pc or 95mn bl.

Overall, crude and lease condensate production on federal lands accounted for 21.4pc of the US total output, down from 23.1pc in 2013. "This decrease in the federal lands share of total production was the result of the 16pc increase in total crude production," the report said.

Dry natural gas production on federal and Indian lands fell to 3.79 Tcf in FY 2014 (107bn m3), down by 7 pc from 4.08 Tcf in 2013. Over the 12-year period, gas production dropped 46pc from 7.07 Tcf in 2003.

Gas output onshore rose 6pc over the 12 years. But offshore production plunged to 1.07 Tcf in 2014, down from 1.20 Tcf in 2013 and 4.52 Tcf in 2003.

Natural gas liquids production on federal and Indian lands rose to 121mn bl last year, up from 112mn in 2013 and 95mn in 2003. Coal production was flat in 2014 compared with the previous year.

Overall, fossil fuel production on federal and Indian lands ticked up less than 0.2pc in 2014. US House of Natural Resources Committee chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) described the report as "astonishingly dismal."

Bishop said "that stagnant production on federal lands is a pillar in President Obama's energy legacy of failure."