Winning: Domestic Wells Drilled in Second Quarter of 2017 up 62 Percent

The American Petroleum Institute is reporting a 62 percent increase in wells drilled and completed in the second quarter of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016.

“This includes a 41 percent increase in estimated development gas well completions and a dramatic 81 percent increase in total estimated oil well completions from year-ago levels,” API reported in its 2017 API Quarterly Well Completion Report for the second quarter.

“Growing well completion figures could lead to an increase in U.S. oil production, which rose 62 percent from 2010 to 2016, and U.S. natural gas production, which also increased 26 percent during the same time,” said the report from API, a national trade association representing the oil and natural gas industry.

“Today’s report further solidifies the United States as a global energy superpower,” Hazem Arafa, director of API’s statistics department, said in a press release distributed to the press. He added:

With the trend of drilling activity increasing, the United States is poised to continue leading the world in the production and refining of oil and natural gas. The global energy balance is shifting as U.S. resources are increasingly meeting domestic and global demand, and it’s important for U.S. policymakers to embrace America’s leadership in the safe and environmentally-responsible development of our resources, which help keeps energy affordable for consumers and strengthens our national security.

The oil and natural gas industry supports 9.8 million American jobs, which represents eight percent of the U.S. economy, according to API.