U.S. Oil Production Reaches All-Time High, Oklahoma Ranks 6th In The Nation

Oil production in the United States has reached an all-time high, surpassing Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Oklahoma's Secretary of Energy and Environment said the record of oil production is good news from the standpoint of national security. Secretary Ken McQueen said the United States has been producing more than 13 million barrels of oil a day for the last several months

A lot of that is coming from Texas with more than 5 million barrels of oil a day. Oklahoma is ranked sixth in production with about 420,000 barrels a day, which is close to what Colorado and Alaska produce. McQueen expects Oklahoma production to be leveled. News On 6 asked McQueen how the U.S. can produce so much oil.

"It's due to two technological advancements that took place at the same time," McQueen said. "The first one of those is horizontal drilling and the second of those is hydraulic stimulation."

McQueen said Oklahoma is also ranked third in the country for the deployment of rigs, which is a predictor of the future of oil in the state.

According to US Energy data the Top 10 states for oil production last year were:

1 - Texas

2 - New Mexico

3 - North Dakota

4 - Colorado

5 - Oklahoma

6 - Alaska

7 - California

8 - Wyoming

9 - Utah

10 - Louisiana