NMOGA: NM oil production soars 46 percent

SANTA FE — New Mexico’s oil boom continues to reach new heights as recently published data shows oil production hitting a record high of 250 million barrels of oil in 2018.

The United States Energy Information Administration reported that oil production in the state climbed an impressive 46 percent from 2017 to 2018, surging 78 million barrels past the previous record of 171 million barrels set in 2017.

“New Mexico’s oil and natural continues gas industry continues to be the economic backbone of our state. Record energy production is not only good for jobs and the communities where we produce oil and natural gas, it means important funding for our public schools and the entire state budget while protecting our environment and natural resources,” said Ryan Flynn, executive director of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association.

“The only impediments to more growth for our economy and oil and natural gas production are regulatory uncertainty and detrimental policies crafted in Santa Fe. Together, our focus should be on finding ways to safely continue the growth that is helping turn New Mexico around, not hinder it,” Flynn said.

New Mexico natural gas production is also on an upswing, coming in at a 10-year high of 1,488,471 million cubic feet for 2018 marketed production. New Mexico last passed that figure in 2007, but still lags behind the all-time high of 1,695,595 million cubic feet produced in 2000.

New Mexico is the third-largest oil producer in the United States, having cemented the position with rapidly increasing production in the Permian Basin. New Mexico oil producers are showing no signs of slowing down, having also reached a monthly production milestone of 25.3 million barrels of oil in December.

Earlier this month, oil producers Chevron and Exxon Mobil announced higher production forecasts for their assets across the New Mexico-Texas Permian Basin. Exxon Mobil said it plans to produce the equivalent of 1 million barrels of oil per day in the basin as soon as 2024, while Chevron expects to produce 600,000 barrels per day in the Permian by the end of 2020 and 900,000 barrels a day by the end of 2023.

Increased production has led to rapid growth for communities in southeast New Mexico, but it is also having an impact around the state and in the state capitol. The New Mexico Tax Research Institute reported that New Mexico’s general fund and public schools are benefitting from considerable increases in oil and natural gas taxes and revenues. Industry contributions to the state in fiscal year 2018 totaled $2.2 billion, including $822 million in funding for public schools and nearly $241 million for the state’s universities, colleges, and other higher education institutions.

“The future is very bright for New Mexico, and we can expect record highs and new heights to be the norm for New Mexico if the state remains a favorable place to do business,” Flynn said. “New Mexico’s Permian Basin is among the best in the world for oil and natural gas production. We are rising to the challenge of driving New Mexico’s economy, and we can continue to safely develop our oil and natural gas resources and enjoy robust growth for the foreseeable future.”

Data and rankings are com piled and produced by the United States Energy Information Administration, an indepen dent agency within the U.S Department of Energy.