Oil production continues steady ascent; gas increases despite falling prices

摘要

Crude and condensate. Strong and consistent oil prices kept U.S. crude production climbing in 2011, though only modestly, in the Lower 48 states, offsetting a continued decline in Alaska. Overall, U.S. production climbed an estimated 3.7%, while Alaska, once the Gargantua of production and reserves, fell another 5.3% from 2010's revised rate of just under 600,000 bopd. Since peaking at over 2 million bopd in 1987, the decline of Alaskan fields has been steady and nearly linear to an average 567,000 bopd last year, a fall of over two-thirds.