The United States remained the world’s largest crude oil producer in 2025, according to the EIA’s International Energy Statistics database, extending a streak that began in 2018 when the U.S. overtook Russia. Production including lease condensate averaged a record-high 13.6 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2025, breaking the previous U.S. and global production record of 13.2 million b/d set in 2024.
A widening gap over Russia and Saudi Arabia
U.S. crude oil production was about 40% higher on average in 2025 than that from the next two largest global crude oil producers, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Russia produced 9.89 million b/d of crude oil, including lease condensate, in 2025, down by a hair from a year earlier; Saudi Arabia produced 9.56 million b/d, up by 3.5%.
The difference between the United States and other major producers widened in 2025, with Russian output largely unchanged and Saudi Arabia recording modest growth as a result of OPEC+ unwinding voluntary production cuts.
Russia’s crude oil production averaged 9.9 million b/d in 2024 and remained largely unchanged in 2025 as a combination of voluntary production cuts and effects of the conflict with Ukraine limited crude oil output growth. U.S. crude oil production powered by shale development has turned the United States into not just the world’s largest producer, but the largest producer of crude oil ever.
Permian Basin leads domestic gains
Production growth was particularly strong in the Permian region of western Texas and southeastern New Mexico, which accounted for 48% of total U.S. crude oil production. Output there grew by 280,000 b/d to 6.6 million b/d in 2025.
The active rig count in the Lower 48 states was 5% lower in 2025 than in 2024, and 1% fewer wells were drilled. Despite less rig activity and fewer wells, efficiency improvements that emerged in 2024 continued through 2025, resulting in a net increase in crude oil production.
The EIA attributed the sustained output gains to continued gains in drilling productivity and operational efficiency across key shale basins, which allow operators to extract more oil per well.
Growth despite falling prices
The output growth unfolded despite lower oil prices: West Texas Intermediate dropped from an average of $77 per barrel in 2024 to $65 per barrel in 2025 amid global oversupply. That price decline also weighed on overall rig activity, yet productivity gains more than offset the slowdown in drilling.
Parallel to crude oil growth, U.S. associated natural gas production has also surged, driven by activity in oil-dominant plays like the Permian, supporting domestic natural gas-fired electricity generation and growing natural gas exports. That surge in petroleum exports has reshaped the country’s energy trade balance in recent years.
What comes next
Looking ahead, the EIA’s March 2026 Short-Term Energy Outlook forecast U.S. crude oil production would remain near 13.7 million b/d in 2026, before increasing to 14.2 million b/d in 2027.
Five new Gulf of America projects, Whale, Ballymore, Dover, Shenandoah, and Leon-Castile, came online in 2025, adding offshore volumes of 111,000 b/d that will help sustain output in the near term.
With the energy sector remaining a central focus of U.S. foreign and trade policy, analysts will be watching closely to see whether shale productivity can keep pace if prices soften further in 2026.
