OREANDA-NEWS. January 22, 2016. The domestic oil and natural gas industry spent an estimated \\$168.7 billion in drilling approximately 46,488 oil and natural gas wells in 2014, according to API’s 2014 Joint Association Survey on Drilling Costs. The total number of new wells increased by 3.22 percent from 2013 levels.

Expenditures on oil represented 71.4 percent of all drilling costs in 2014, up from 65.1 percent in 2013. Natural gas expenditures accounted for 21.7 percent of costs, down from 29.1 percent in 2013.

Development well expenditures were \\$138.4 billion in 2014, while exploratory well expenditures were \\$5.3 billion.

The report also shows that expenditures on shale drilling represented 48.6 percent of costs, down from 63.5 percent in 2013. Overall investment in offshore production also decreased from 4.0 percent of all domestic oil and gas production expenditures in 2013 to 0.6 percent in 2014.

API’s 2014 Joint Association Survey on Drilling Costs is available through API’s primary distributor, IHS. If you would like to purchase this report, please contact IHS at 1-800-854-7179, or visit their website at www.global.ihs.com.

API is the only national trade association representing all facets of the oil and natural gas industry, which supports 9.8 million U.S. jobs and 8 percent of the U.S. economy. API’s more than 650 members include large integrated companies, as well as exploration and production, refining, marketing, pipeline, and marine businesses, and service and supply firms. They provide most of the nation’s energy and are backed by a growing grassroots movement of more than 30 million Americans.