Texas produced 11.2 Tcf of natural gas last year, a new record, according to the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO).
Natural gas production in Texas dwarfed other states. Pennsylvania at 7.6 Tcf was the second highest producer in 2022, followed by Alaska (3.6 Tcf), Louisiana (3.6 Tcf) and Oklahoma (2.7 Tcf).
In its eighth edition of its State of Energy Report, TIPRO said the Lone Star State was also the nation's top oil producer, supplying 1.83 billion bbl to energy markets last year. New Mexico had the second highest oil production at 534 million bbl, followed by North Dakota with 393 million bbl produced.
“The Texas oil and natural gas industry remains a cornerstone of our state economy, and a critical source of energy security for our country and allies abroad,” said Ed Longanecker, TIPRO president.
Texas also had the highest rig count in the country in 2022, with an average of 380 active rigs. This was more than half the total average rig count in the United States. The number of rigs in Texas increased from 332 in January, 2022 to 410 in December, 2022.
TIPRO expects further growth this year. The report cited projections by the Energy Information Administration for increased natural gas production of 2% in 2023. The major driver of natural gas production growth would be drilling activity in the Haynesville region, which covers East Texas and Louisiana, and the Permian Basin region, which covers West Texas and Southeast New Mexico.
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
TIPRO said the Texas oil and gas industry once again led the nation in industry employment last year, accounting for 37% of all oil and gas jobs in the nation.
The industry supported a total of 347,828 direct jobs in Texas in 2022, up by about 25,000 over the previous year. California was the second largest employer (80,772), followed by Louisiana (68,733), Oklahoma (46,486) and Pennsylvania (33,079), according to TIPRO.
“Despite facing a number of unique challenges, including supply chain bottlenecks, inflationary pressures, workforce shortages and an adversarial federal policy environment, the U.S. oil and gas industry continued to offer significant economic support in 2022,” said Jud Walker, chairman of TIPRO. “Oil and natural gas development, led by Texas operators, will play an important role in meeting growing global energy demand for decades to come under any realistic scenario.”
According to TIPRO, the oil and gas industry supported a total of 948,943 direct jobs in the U.S. last year, with total direct and indirect jobs tied to the industry exceeding 19 million.
The U.S. oil and natural gas sector paid a national annual wage averaging $120,665 during 2022, 74% higher than average private sector wages. Total U.S. goods and services purchased in 2022 by the oil and natural gas industry exceeded $744 billion from over 900 business sectors.
Texas had the highest oil and gas payroll in the country in 2022 ($48 billion), with California coming in at a distant second ($11 billion), followed by Louisiana ($7.6 billion). Texas had the highest number of oil and gas businesses in the nation last year with 12,306, three times the number of oil and gas businesses in second-ranked Oklahoma.
Meanwhile, total U.S. goods and services purchased by the Texas oil and natural gas industry surpassed $264 billion last year. The Texas oil and natural gas industry also paid a record $24.7 billion in state taxes and state royalty payments in 2022, according to TIPRO.
