The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed its latest U.S. crude oil and natural gas proved reserves figures in a report posted on its site recently.
According to the report, which includes data up to 2023, U.S. crude oil and lease condensate proved reserves decreased 3.9 percent year over year from 2022, from 48.3 billion barrels to 46.4 billion barrels.
North Dakota crude oil and lease condensate reserves decreased 12.3 percent from 2022, the report showed, highlighting that, at 611 million barrels, this was the largest annual net decline reported among all states. The second largest net decline of oil reserves occurred in Alaska, according to the report, which pointed out that the state saw an 11.4 percent, or 384 million barrel, drop.
New Mexico crude oil and lease condensate proved reserves increased 6.1 percent from 2022 to 2023, the report highlighted. At 380 million barrels, this was the largest net increase in 2023, the EIA report revealed.
The report also showed that U.S. crude oil and lease condensate production increased 7.8 percent year over year from 2022 to 2023.
Natural Gas
Proved reserves of U.S. natural gas decreased 12.6 percent year over year, from 691.0 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) to 603.6 Tcf, the EIA report stated, adding that this was the first annual decrease in U.S. natural gas reserves since 2020.
Alaska saw the largest annual net decline among all states in 2023, according to the report, which revealed natural gas proved reserves in the state decreased 22.7 percent, or 28.5 Tcf. Texas had the second largest net decline in proved reserves of natural gas, according to the report, which revealed that the state’s proved reserves drop was 12.6 percent, or 21.4 Tcf.
Montana reported the largest annual net increase in proved reserves of natural gas from 2022 to 2023, the report highlighted, revealing the state’s proved reserves rise came in at 11.2 percent, or 70 billion cubic feet.
The report went on to point out that U.S. natural gas production increased 3.4 percent in 2023.
Preparation, Definition
To prepare its report, the EIA collected independently developed estimates of proved reserves with Form EIA-23L, Annual Report of Domestic Oil and Gas Proved Reserves, from a sample of U.S. operators of oil and natural gas fields, the EIA pointed out in its report.
“We use this sample to further estimate the portion of proved reserves from operators who do not report,” the EIA said in the report, adding that, this year, it received responses from 422 of 458 sampled operators, which the EIA said “provided coverage of about 95 percent of proved reserves of oil and 97 percent of proved reserves of natural gas at the national level”.
“We develop estimates for reserves located in the United States, each state individually, and some state subdivisions,” the EIA went on to note in the report.
Proved reserves are estimated volumes of hydrocarbon resources that analysis of geologic and engineering data demonstrates with reasonable certainty are recoverable under existing economic and operating conditions, the EIA stated in its report.
The organization said in the report that reserves estimates change from year to year because of price and cost changes, new discoveries, thorough appraisals of existing fields, existing reserves production, and new and improved techniques and technologies.
Previous Figures
A chart featured in the EIA’s latest report, which included data from 1983 to 2023, showed that U.S. proved reserves of crude oil and lease condensate and U.S. proved reserves of natural gas both hit a peak in 2022.
In its previous U.S. crude oil and natural gas proved reserves report, which was released in April last year and included data up to 2022, the EIA said U.S. crude oil and lease condensate proved reserves increased nine percent from 44.4 billion barrels to 48.3 billion barrels at year-end 2022.
Texas saw the largest crude oil and natural gas proved reserves net increase that year, the report highlighted. The state’s proved reserves increase came in at nine percent, or 1.7 billion barrels, according to the report. The largest net decrease in proved reserves of crude oil and lease condensate in 2022 was in California, the report revealed. California’s proved reserves drop came in at 13 percent, or 225 million barrels, the report showed.
Proved reserves of U.S. natural gas increased 10 percent in 2022, the report showed, highlighting that this figure jumped from 625.4 Tcf at year-end 2021 to 691.0 Tcf at year-end 2022.
“Natural gas proved reserves in Alaska increased 25 percent in 2022, raising that state’s total from 99.8 Tcf to 125.2 Tcf – the largest increase of all states in 2022,” the EIA said in that report.
“Operators in Pennsylvania reported the largest net decrease in proved reserves of natural gas in 2022 (652 billion cubic feet, or 0.6 percent),” it added.
The EIA’s next U.S. crude oil and natural gas proved reserves report is scheduled to be released in June 2026 and will include data up to 2024.
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