{"id":634480,"date":"2026-07-13T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=634480"},"modified":"2026-07-13T01:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T01:00:00","slug":"united-states-retains-spot-as-worlds-top-oil-producer-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=634480","title":{"rendered":"United States Retains Spot As World&#8217;s Top Oil Producer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden\">United States Retains Spot As World&#8217;s Top Oil Producer<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/business\/united-states-retains-spot-as-worlds-top-oil-producer-6060425?utm_source=partner&amp;utm_campaign=ZeroHedge\"><em>Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>The United States was the largest crude oil producer in the world in 2025, outputting a \u201crecord-high\u201d 13.6 million barrels per day (bpd), according to a July 9 statement from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a data-image-external-href=\"\" data-image-href=\"\/s3\/files\/inline-images\/image%20-%202026-07-12T131214.376.jpg?itok=twsv0vR5\" data-link-option=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/cms.zerohedge.com\/s3\/files\/inline-images\/image%20-%202026-07-12T131214.376.jpg?itok=twsv0vR5\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" data-entity-type=\"file\" data-entity-uuid=\"451f99f2-4550-4767-9ebc-50911b6f4b95\" data-responsive-image-style=\"inline_images\" height=\"333\" width=\"500\" class=\"inline-images image-style-inline-images\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.zerohedge.com\/s3fs-public\/styles\/inline_image_mobile\/public\/inline-images\/image%20-%202026-07-12T131214.376.jpg?itok=twsv0vR5\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>America\u2019s output was far ahead of second-placed Russia, which produced 9.9 million bpd. Saudi Arabia came in third with 9.6 million bpd, with Canada in the fourth spot at 5 million bpd. The difference in oil output between the United States and other top producers widened last year, with Russian supplies mostly remaining unchanged year-over-year while Saudi Arabia saw a modest increase.<\/p>\n<p>The 13.6 million bpd output breaks the previous U.S. and global production record of 13.2 million bpd set in 2024. The United States first overtook Russia as the top global oil producer in 2018 and has since retained the number one spot.<\/p>\n<p>EIA attributed the consistently high oil production in the United States to \u201ccontinued gains in drilling productivity and operational efficiency across key shale basins, which allow operators to extract more oil per well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Powered by shale development, the United States has become not only the top crude oil producer \u201cbut the largest producer of crude oil ever,\u201d the agency said.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In addition to record-high production last year, exports have been climbing. In April, U.S. exports of crude oil and petroleum products hit a record, with crude oil exports averaging 5.6 million bpd, 21 percent higher than the previous record from December 2023, the EIA said in a July 8 statement.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The exports of finished petroleum products, including jet fuel and motor gasoline, hit the highest level since December 2024.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The record-high exports in April 2026 came amid disruptions to energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz due to the U.S.\u2013Iran war, a development that ended up boosting global demand for American energy. Brent crude oil futures had hit a peak of over $126 per barrel in April. Prices have since come down and ended Friday at around $76.<\/p>\n<p>In its latest statement, EIA said the jump in oil production last year happened despite oil prices being lower, with the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price dropping from an average of $77 per barrel in 2024 to $65 per barrel in 2025. WTI is a benchmark for crude oil produced in the United States.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Moreover, EIA predicts America\u2019s crude oil production to be close to 13.7 million bpd this year and to rise to 14.2 million bpd in 2027.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Boosting Oil Production<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The higher oil output follows multiple actions taken by the Trump administration aimed at boosting production.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In November 2025, the administration <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/trump-admin-approves-offshore-oil-drilling-in-areas-off-florida-california-alaska-coastlines-5947750\">announced<\/a> the approval of new oil drilling leases off the coasts of Alaska, Florida, and California.<\/p>\n<p>In January this year, the administration <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/trump-admin-invites-oil-industry-input-on-new-california-offshore-leases-5976924\">initiated<\/a> the first step to offering oil and gas drilling leases in California, with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management seeking information on potential lease areas to auction as early as next year.<\/p>\n<p>In March, the Department of the Interior <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/alaska-oil-lease-sale-draws-430-bids-nets-record-163-7-million-in-revenue-6000818\">conducted<\/a> an oil lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve\u2013Alaska, the first since 2019.<\/p>\n<p>This action came under criticism from the environmental group Sierra Club. Mike Scott, Sierra Club\u2019s oil and gas campaign manager, in a March 18 statement, accused President Donald Trump of making oil corporation CEOs richer at the cost of the environment.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThe Western Arctic is not just any landscape\u2014it\u2019s one of the last true wild places in the country, home to rare and threatened wildlife and cultures that have subsisted on the land for thousands of years,\u201d Scott said.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cDrilling in the Arctic won\u2019t solve our energy crisis, but it will cause irreversible damage to these pristine landscapes. Big Oil has been champing at the bit to get its hands on these lands, and Trump is making their wishes come true.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum had said, post the lease sale in Alaska, that the sale underscored the reserve\u2019s vital role in strengthening America\u2019s energy security.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The reserve \u201cwas created to support our nation\u2019s energy needs, and this successful sale demonstrates what\u2019s possible when we align responsible development with that original purpose,\u201d Burgum said. \u201cRevenues from these leases will help bolster local communities, create good\u2011paying jobs, and ensure that Alaska continues to be a cornerstone of America\u2019s domestic energy production.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice has decided to ditch the oil and gas leasing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/justice-department-agrees-to-end-biden-era-oil-and-gas-leasing-restrictions-in-alaska-6059149\">restrictions<\/a> imposed by the prior administration in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Alaska and its industrial development and export authority had filed lawsuits challenging the restrictions.<\/p>\n<p>On July 7, the department said that these restrictions violated federal law and asked the court to dismiss the lawsuits.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the prior administration\u2019s actions \u201cimproperly limited\u201d Alaska\u2019s energy potential through \u201cunreasonable\u201d regulations. <em><strong>\u201cThis settlement supports the Trump administration\u2019s commitment to secure American energy independence and our national security for generations to come.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>      <span class=\"field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden\"><a title=\"View user profile.\" href=\"https:\/\/cms.zerohedge.com\/users\/tyler-durden\" lang=\"\" class=\"username\" xml:lang=\"\">Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden\">Sun, 07\/12\/2026 &#8211; 21:00<\/span><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.zerohedge.com\/s3fs-public\/styles\/inline_image_mobile\/public\/inline-images\/image%20-%202026-07-12T131214.376.jpg?itok=twsv0vR5\" title=\"United States Retains Spot As World&apos;s Top Oil Producer\" \/><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>United States Retains Spot As World&#8217;s Top Oil Producer Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times, The United States was the largest crude oil producer in the world in 2025, outputting a \u201crecord-high\u201d 13.6 million barrels per day (bpd), according to a July 9 statement from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). America\u2019s output was&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=634480\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">United States Retains Spot As World&#8217;s Top Oil Producer<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":634461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,22,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-634480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-border-security","category-immigration","category-immigration-reform","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=634480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/634461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=634480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=634480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=634480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}