The Most Revealing Oil and Gas Industry Statistics for 2024

With soaring gas and oil prices, a global surge in energy costs, widespread political turmoil, and full-on European energy crises, the state of energy production is set to get even more chaotic in the months to come. The largest oil-producing countries are struggling with supplies, and consumers around the globe are bracing for soaring inflation to affect energy costs. 

Still ravaged by the pandemic, the global economy has struggled to get back on its feet, while many of society’s most vulnerable are scrambling to simply put food on the table. In times of crisis, familiarizing yourself with the latest oil and gas industry statistics can raise awareness and give you a heads up about what’s to come. Read on to find out more.

Key Oil and Gas Industry Statistics for 2024  - Editor’s Choice:

• With 16.5 million barrels per day, the US was the biggest oil producer in 2020.
• Texas is the largest oil-producing state in the US, with 1.78 billion barrels produced in 2020.
• Russia has the largest proven natural gas reserves in the world.
• The average hourly wage for oil and gas industry employees in the US was $45.48 in Dec 2021.
• There were 22 fatalities in the US industry in 2019.
• There were 578 reported oil and gas pipeline incidents in the US in 2020.

The Distribution of Oil and Gas - Industry Statistics

With so many countries still fighting over commodities and supremacy on the market, the first factor we’ll give you insight into is the distribution of the world's crude oil and gas reserves. We’ll scan 20 years of data and examine all the fluctuations between the regions that are home to petroleum reserves. Things change as consumption increases, and the distribution of oil and gas is the source of much global turmoil. 

The US was the biggest oil producer in 2020 with an output of 16.5 million barrels per day.

(Statista) 

Over a 22-year span from 1998 to 2020, US oil production showed record growth, with a particular acceleration after the economic crisis in 2008. US oil and gas industry statistics indicate that the country's oil production reached its peak in 2019, with an output of more than 17 million barrels per day, while in 2020, those figures decreased slightly to 16.5 million barrels per day.

The reason behind the skyrocketing growth can be found in the 2008 recession, which caused Middle Eastern countries to increase oil prices. As a result, the US became highly motivated to expand production domestically and reduce imports of crude oil. 

As of 2020, the Middle East accounts for 48.3% of known oil reserves.

(Statista)

Speaking of crude oil reserves and their distribution across the world, oil industry statistics clearly indicate that the Middle East tops the list. As of 2020, the region’s proven oil reserves account for almost half of the global share: 48.3%. However, those figures show a significant decline given that the Middle East held over 60% of global reserves in 1992.

This is understandable due to new discoveries of crude oil reserves in the Americas, especially Venezuela. The Middle East is followed by South and Central America with 18.7% and North America with 14% of crude oil reserves. Europe and CIS, Africa, and the Asia Pacific regions are ranked third to fifth. 

Texas is the largest oil-producing state in the US, with 1.78 billion barrels produced in 2020.

(Statista)

Texas oil and gas industry company statistics clearly show that the Lone Star State is by far the largest oil-producing state in the US. Stats from 2020 show that Texas produced a total of 1.78 billion barrels, over four times more than the second-ranked North Dakota, which produced 421.2 million barrels in the same year.

With 32 of the 50 US states producing oil, the list doesn’t stop there; New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Alaska are also high on the list, while Idaho is the smallest oil-producing state, with only one million barrels. 

Texas is home to the biggest basin in the US - the Permian - which accounts for 4.8 million barrels per day.

(Statista)

The American oil industry heavily depends on Texas oil production. Aside from being well-known for its reliable local banks, the Lone Star State is the home to the biggest and most productive basin in the US, the Permian. In September 2021, the basin accounted for a total production of 4.8 million barrels per day, a slight increase from the September 2020 level of 4.3 million.

Bakin in North Dakota is in second place, with a significantly lower production of 1.1 million barrels per day, while the Eagle Ford Basin in Texas accounts for 1 million barrels. Oil and gas facts tell us that the least productive basin was Haynesville in Louisiana, with an average production of 33,700 barrels per day.

Proven natural gas reserves in the UK amount to 200 billion cubic meters.

(Statista)

Natural gas reserves in the UK in 2020 remained at the same level they have been since 2015: around 200 billion cubic meters. Back in 1995, the UK boasted 700 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The UK is the second-largest gas-producing country in Europe, behind Norway, and despite the slight decline in its production and consumption over the years, gas still plays a significant role in the UK’s fuel mix. 

The US is the largest gas producer worldwide, with an output of 915 billion cubic meters in 2020.

(Statista)

Oil in the United States is a significant source of income. That said, the country is also the richest in the world when it comes to natural gas. The US holds the title of the biggest gas-producing country in the world, with a production of 914.6 billion cubic meters in 2020.

The second most significant contributor to natural gas production on the planet is Russia, with an output of 638.5 billion cubic meters per year. Iran, China, and Qatar are highly ranked too, while the bottom of the list of gas producers is reserved for war-ravaged Yemen, whose share is 0.1 billion cubic meters per year.

Russia has the largest proven natural gas reserves in the world.

(Statista)

It sits in second place on the list of gas producers, and Russia’s oil and gas industry outlook is even brighter when it comes to reserves. In 2020, Russia housed the largest proven natural gas reserves in the world: 37.4 trillion cubic meters, which is an increase on the 2010 figure of 34.1 trillion.

Second place is reserved for Iran, which holds a share of 32.1, while Qatar is ranked third with 24.7 trillion cubic meters. With 12.6 trillion cubic meters in 2020, the United States is positioned in fifth place, down by 34% compared to 2010. 

Oil and Gas Industry Employment Statistics

Now that we know the oil and gas distribution range, we’ll take a closer look at employment statistics related to the industry. These jobs relate to exploration for natural gas and crude petroleum, drilling wells, emulsion breakers, operating separators, desilting equipment, and field gathering lines for gas and oil.

They also include tasks associated with the process of preparing oil and gas for shipment. The industry is large and diverse, and so are jobs. We’ve compiled a list of interesting stats to help you better understand the gas and oil production ecosystem. 

The number of industry employees in the US in January 2022 was 119,100.

(Bureau of Labor Statistics)

The oil and gas industry statistics that BLS (the US Bureau of Labor Statistics) releases on a monthly basis show a slight decrease in the number of employees in the oil and gas industry as of January this year. Around 119,100 people were involved in oil and gas production in January 2022.

In contrast, data for the previous three-month period (October to December 2021) indicates that the figures were slightly higher, nearly 122,000. Out of that number, production and nonsupervisory employees accounted for 78,800 as of December 2021, whereas data for 2022 hasn’t been published yet. 

The average hourly wage for oil and gas industry employees in the US was $45.48 in December 2021.

(Bureau of Labor Statistics)

The employment statistics for the oil and gas industry in the USA gathered by the same source, BLS, clearly states that the hourly wage in December 2021 averaged $45.48. Production and nonsupervisory employees earned $37.01 per hour on average.

Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers, earned a median hourly wage of $73.91 (mean $82.15), while petroleum engineers had median hourly earnings of $66.11 (mean $74.27). Hourly median wages were much lower for petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers ($37.15), roustabouts ($21.27), and wellhead pumpers ($30.19). 

Average hourly wages in the US oil and gas industry grew by over 34% between 2011 and 2021.

(Bureau of Labor Statistics)

When we look at employment statistics from the oil and gas industry, the average hourly earnings of all employees in the oil and gas industry in the US rose by 34.32% over a 10-year span. In December 2011, the average hourly wage was $33.86, whereas the figures for the same period in 2021 amounted to $45.48 (preliminary results).

When it comes to the earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees, their hourly wages rose by 38%, growing from $26.81 in December 2011 up to $37.01 in the same month in 2021.

In Canada, oil and gas industry employment has increased by 6.26% (or 10,868 jobs) since 2021.

(Careers in Energy)

Now let’s take a look at the oil and gas industry employment statistics in Canada. Data gathered by Statistics Canada reveals a steady increase in the employment rate in the industry. Namely, Canada’s oil and gas industry employed roughly 184,600 people in January 2022, which is 0.4% lower than December 2021.

However, compared to January 2021’s 173,720 employees, the employment rate was up 6.3%. If we now look at the peak period in August 2014, we’ll see that there were 228,996 employees back then. 

Work-Related Fatalities, Injuries, and Accidents

Even though the industry is performing well overall, there are several problems that affect oil and gas employees, especially those in the production and nonsupervisory sectors. We’ll now present you with a bunch of not-so-fun safety statistics for the oil and gas industry in the US so that you can be well aware of the dark sides of this type of work and consider investing in life insurance if you’re working there.  

The largest number of US industry fatalities in the past five years occurred in 2019, with 22 deaths.

(Bureau of Labor Statistics, CDC)

These tragic statistics show that the US gas and oil production industry saw 22 fatalities in 2019. The following year was more bearable, with seven cases, similar to 2017’s eight cases. However, 2018 also saw an intimidating number of 13 fatalities.

If we look at CBC data from 2017, we can see that the most considerable number of work-related casualties happened on well-servicing tasks. Oil and gas industry injury statistics further identify drilling operations, specialized freight, and similar duties as the most likely to cause deaths. 

The average number of job-related injuries and illnesses in 2020 in the US was 1.4 per 100 workers.

(Statista)

Over a period of study from 2006 to 2020, there was a noticeable steady decline in job-related injuries and illnesses in the US gas and oil industry. Namely, the figures in 2006 revealed that there were 3.4 cases of injury or illness per 100 workers. The numbers kept declining over the years and fell to 1.4 per 100 workers in 2020.

These intimidating injury statistics in the oil and gas industry show that the most common types of injuries are severe burns, head and brain injuries, broken bones, amputations, and road injuries. The risk of such injuries encourages workers to seek reliable disability insurance.

There were 578 reported oil and gas pipeline incidents in 2020 in the US.

(Statista)

The leading causes of fatalities and injuries in the industry are incidents that happen on oil and gas pipeline systems. Things have changed for the better in the US gas and oil industry, as 2020 saw 578 reported cases. This is a significant decline compared to 657 incidents in the year before. The biggest number of incidents in the observed period was recorded in 2005: 719.

The most prominent causes of incidents in the oil and gas pipeline industry, statistics reveal, are explosion, fire, liquid release, and damages requiring repair work.