New Mexico oil, gas production reaches record in March

New Mexico reported a record-high gas and oil production in March, averaging 1.16 million b/d of oil and 6.19 Bcf/d of gas. Not only did the region report its highest overall production, its rate of growth was also the largest on record for the state, according to a recent report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The increased production came after a month when production fell because of extreme weather in many parts of the U.S. The abrupt growth in production had two causes: new wells coming online and existing wells returning to service after they were shut in during the freeze in February.

Oil production increased by 172,000 b/d in March, up 17% from February, when 983,000 b/d were produced. Gas production increased by 0.65 Bcf/d, an increase of 12% from February 5.54 Bcf/d. The monthly increase in March comes on top of record production for both oil and gas in 2020.

In 2020, the state’s oil production rose 133,000 b/d or 15% from the prior year to a record annual production of 1.04 million b/d. Natural gas production in 2020 also increased to a new record of 5.6 Bcf/d in 2020. The record growth came primarily from the Permian Basin, which spans from western Texas to Eastern New Mexico, the EIA reported.

In 2020, many operators in New Mexico shut in production in response to an abrupt decline in demand for oil and gas. By March 2021, some of those wells were back online and the state’s monthly production exceeded its previous record for both oil and gas.

The increase in oil and gas production in the state was repeated in other parts of the U.S. in March, when nationwide production rose to 11.2 million b/d of oil and 112.68 Bcf/d of gas. Other regions that saw significant jumps in production include Texas, offshore Gulf of Mexico and Oklahoma, the EIA reported.