Oil and Gas Industry Statistics for 2026
With soaring gas and oil prices, a global surge in energy costs and widespread political turmoil, the state of energy production is set to get even more chaotic in the months and years to come.
Here's some of the most important numbers regarding the industry today.
Key Oil & Gas Industry Statistics - Editor’s Choice:
- With 13.6 million barrels per day, the US was the biggest oil producer in 2025
- Texas remains the largest oil-producing state in the US, reaching a record 2.1 billion barrels produced in 2025.
- 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 $47.31 in early 2025.
- There were 8 fatalities in the industry in 2024.
The Distribution of Oil and Gas
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 2025 with an output of 13.6 million barrels per day.
(Statista)
The country's oil production reached its peak in 2025, surpassing the previous 2019 high.
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 2024, the Middle East accounts for 55.5% of known oil reserves.
(Statista)
While the Middle East is still easily the largest region when it comes to oil reserves, the latest 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.
Texas is the largest oil-producing state in the US, with 2.1 billion barrels produced in 2025.
(Statista)
The Lone Star State is by far the largest oil-producing state in the US. The latest data shows that the next-biggest state producer was New Mexico, with 665 million barrels.
Texas is home to the biggest basin in the US - the Permian - which accounts for 6.7 million barrels per day as of late 2025.
(Statista)
The American oil industry heavily depends on Texas oil production. The Lone Star State is the home to the biggest and most productive basin in the US, the Permian. By December 2025, the basin accounted for a total production of 6.7 million barrels per day, a large increase from the 2024 level of 6.16 million.
Bakken in North Dakota remains a significant contributor, while the Eagle Ford Basin in Texas continues to play a vital role in domestic supply. The least productive basins, such as Haynesville, still provide essential niche outputs but pale in comparison to the Permian's dominance.
Proven natural gas reserves in the UK amount to 172 billion cubic meters.
(Statista)
Natural gas reserves in the UK have been rapidly dropping for years Back in 1995, the UK boasted 700 billion cubic meters of natural gas. In 2020, this number was at 200 billion.
The US is the largest gas producer worldwide, with an output of 1.35 trillion cubic meters in 2024.
(INN)
The second most significant contributor to natural gas production on the planet is Russia, with an output of 586.4 billion cubic meters per year. Iran, China, and Canada are highly ranked too.
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 2026, Russia continues to house the largest proven natural gas reserves in the world, estimated at over 47 trillion cubic meters.
Second place is reserved for Iran, while Qatar is ranked third. With 17.7 trillion cubic meters, the United States is positioned in the fourth place.
Russia added 317 new resource fields to its national balance sheet in 2025.
(Rosnedra)
The discovery included 41 new oil and gas fields, consolidating its position as a global resource power. This push for exploration is expected to continue through 2026 to meet rising global demand.
Global oil supply is forecast to rise by 2.4 million barrels per day in 2026.
(IEA)
Assuming current production agreements hold, world oil output is projected to reach 108.6 million barrels per day in 2026, driven by a split between OPEC+ and non-OPEC+ producers.
Natural gas prices at the Henry Hub are projected to average $3.80 per MMBtu in 2026.
(EIA)
This represents a steady outlook for domestic pricing despite significant geopolitical fluctuations in the Middle East affecting international spot prices.
Employment Data
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 numbers to help you better understand the production ecosystem.
The number of industry employees in the US in November 2024 was 119,700.
(Bureau of Labor Statistics)
The numbers that the BLS (US Bureau of Labor Statistics) releases on a monthly basis show that the number of industry employees has pretty much remained steady in the past few years.
The average hourly wage for oil and gas industry employees in the US was $47.31 in early 2025.
(Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Production and nonsupervisory employees earned significant wages compared to other private sectors. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers, and petroleum engineers continue to command the highest median hourly earnings in the sector.
Average hourly wages in the US oil and gas industry grew by 28.45% between 2014 and 2024.
(Bureau of Labor Statistics)
In Januar 2014, the average hourly wage was $36.83 whereas the figures for the same period in 2024 amounted to $47.31.
In Canada, oil and gas industry employment has increased by 16.7% (or 10,8700 jobs) in 2024.
(Samfiru Tumarkin)
Canada is once again seeing a rejuvenation in the industry, with a 10-year high in the employment numbers in roles like engineers and geologists in 2024.
Work-Related Fatalities, Injuries, and Accidents
Even though the industry is performing well overall, there are several problems that affect employees, especially those in the production and nonsupervisory sectors.
We’ll now present you with a bunch of not-so-fun safety numbers so that you can be well aware of the dark sides of this type of work.
There were 8 industry fatalities in 2024.
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, CDC)
The most considerable number of work-related casualties happened on well-servicing tasks. Drilling operations, specialized freight, and similar duties are the most likely to cause deaths.
The average number of job-related injuries and illnesses in the US is 1.8 per 100 workers.
(Statista)
Over a period of study from 2006 to 2022, 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 number of liquid pipeline incidents is down 23% in the last five years.
(Liquid Energy Pipeline Association)
The latest data shows that in 2023, there were 87 fewer incidents involving liquid pipelines than five years earlier in 2019.
Sources
For years, the clients I worked for were banks. That gave me an insider’s view of how banks and other institutions create financial products and services. Then I entered the world of journalism. Fortunly is the result of our fantastic team’s hard work. I use the knowledge I acquired as a bank copywriter to create valuable content that will help you make the best possible financial decisions.
