For the fifth straight year, in 2016, the United States remained the world's top producer of petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbons, despite production declines for both petroleum and natural gas relative to their 2015 levels. The United States has been the world's top producer of natural gas since 2009, when its natural gas production surpassed that of Russia, and it has been the world's top producer of petroleum hydrocarbons since 2013, when its production exceeded Saudi Arabia's. This according to a Today in Energy brief released June 7 from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). For the United States and Russia, total petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbon production in energy-content terms is almost evenly split between petroleum and natural gas, while Saudi Arabia's production heavily favors petroleum, said the report. Total petroleum production is made up of several different types of liquid fuels, including crude oil and lease condensate, tight oil, extra-heavy oil, and bitumen. In addition, various processes produce natural gas plant liquids (NGPL), biofuels, and refinery processing gain, among other liquid fuels.
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