Even amid declines associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, the United States maintained its status as the globe’s leading producer of petroleum and natural gas in 2020, a recent analysis from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows.

Oil and Gas Production

Domestic petroleum and natural gas output fell year/year in 2020 after reaching record highs in 2019, EIA said in a research note published Monday. Even so, the drop-off was not enough to unseat the United States as the world’s leading producer ahead of Russia and Saudi Arabia, a status it has held since 2014.

“U.S. petroleum and natural gas output in 2020 totaled 66.9 quadrillion Btu (quads), which was more than both Russia’s 45.5 quads and Saudi Arabia’s 26.5 quads of petroleum and natural gas production,” EIA said. 

All...