Oil and Gas
Craft Oil: The Lesser Known Side of America’s Energy Industry
Craft Oil: The Lesser Known Side of America’s Energy Industry
Go back a decade, and America’s energy industry was quite the hot button issue.
Oil prices were soaring past $100/bbl, the country was still reliant on OPEC for imports, and a lack of energy independence was becoming a costly issue. Meanwhile, the United States was being outclassed on the energy production front by both Saudi Arabia and Russia.
However, in the short span of eight years – and thanks to the use of technologies like horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing – the United States quickly went from having a questionable energy future to being in a clear position of strength. Today, even with lower prices, U.S. field production of crude is at a 43-year high.
America’s Independent Oil Producers
Since 2016, the U.S. has produced close to the equivalent of 30 million bpd in oil and natural gas, making the United States a champion of global energy production.
Today’s infographic from Jericho Oil focuses on a key part of the turnaround in the U.S. energy sector that often gets overshadowed by Big Oil players like ExxonMobil or Royal Dutch Shell. It covers the role of “Craft Oil” in the industry, an umbrella that includes many small, independent, and focused companies across America that produce oil and gas on a domestic basis.
The thousands of companies in this group, many which are community-driven or family-owned, actually drill 95% of the country’s oil wells to yield 54% of onshore oil and 85% of onshore gas production.
Comparing Big Oil to Craft Oil
Below is a comparison of ExxonMobil to the profile of an average Craft Oil company:
Employees | ||
Years in Business | ||
Annual Gross Revenues | ||
Ownership | ||
Level of Integration | ||
Focus | ||
Production |
Most Craft Oil companies are very small in comparison – but together, they contribute to a very significant portion of U.S. production, as well as the economy.
Investing in Craft Oil
Do these independent producers provide a strategic opportunity for investors?
Yes, but here are a few areas investors should consider evaluating before taking any action:
Location of Assets:
In the U.S. and Canada, independent oil companies undergo strong regulatory scrutiny to make sure their reporting and numbers give transparency to their operations.
Cash and Debt:
How much does the company have in cash? Will they have to raise more money soon?
Companies operating in junior oil and gas should not have more than 2x more debt than their current cash flow.
Management Team:
The strength of any management team is linked to their connections, past experience, and skill set. If the management team has built and sold successful projects in the past, that is a good sign of strength.
Economics:
Investors need to be aware of key metrics to gauge if junior oil and gas companies can make money in the current or projected cost environment. These include IRR (Internal Rate of Return), NPV (Net present value), and payback period. Companies that make their money back fast and with a good return can re-invest that capital into additional projects.
Oil and Gas
Map: Oil and Gas Spills in the U.S. Since 2010
Oil and gas spills can be messy, but where are they most likely to occur? This graphic looks at oil and gas spills in the U.S. since 2010.

Mapped: Oil and Gas Spills in the U.S. Since 2010
The recent energy crisis has highlighted the integral role that hydrocarbons play in fueling the modern world, but these fossil fuels still come with their fair share of downsides.
Aside from the obvious climate impact they bring, one other downside in particular is spills, which can lead to ecological and economic damage. These can happen due to pipeline leaks, train derailments, or other industrial disasters.
This graphic from Preyash Shah provides a visual overview of every oil and gas spill in the contiguous U.S. since 2010. Data is tracked by the U.S. government’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).
U.S. Oil and Gas Spills (2010‒2022)
The majority of spills that have occurred come mostly from crude oil, followed by petroleum products and gas. Note that this data covers the quantity of spills and not damages or volume.
Spills by Product Type | Portion of all U.S. Spills |
---|---|
Crude oil | 51% |
Petroleum products | 32% |
Diesel | 14% |
Gasoline | 13% |
Others | 5% |
Highly volatile liquids & flammable gas | 16% |
Liquefied petroleum gas / natural gas liquids | 8% |
Other highly volatile liquids | 6% |
Anhydrous ammonia | 2% |
Others | 3% |
Carbon dioxide | 2% |
Biofuel | 1% |
Crude oil, which makes up just over half of documented spills, is also one of the most costly. Contaminations can persist for years after a spill, and its impact on local mammals and waterfowl is particularly harsh.
This has been the case with the Deepwater Horizon spill (also known as the “BP oil spill”), which experts say is still causing harm in the Gulf of Mexico.
Other products with lots of spills include petroleum products such as diesel or gasoline, as well as liquefied natural gas or other volatile liquids. Interestingly, liquefied carbon dioxide can also be transported in pipelines, commonly used for carbon capture storage, but requires high pressure to maintain its state.
When looking at the location of spills, it’s clear that the South Central states have experienced the highest number of disasters. In contrast, the West Coast has had substantially less activity. However, this makes much more sense when looking at the dominant oil producing states, where Texas and surrounding neighbors reign supreme.
Rank | State | Oil & Gas Spills (2010-2022) |
---|---|---|
1 | Texas | 1936 |
2 | Oklahoma | 407 |
3 | Louisiana | 297 |
4 | California | 253 |
5 | Kansas | 208 |
6 | Illinois | 181 |
7 | Wyoming | 155 |
8 | New Jersey | 128 |
9 | New Mexico | 114 |
10 | North Dakota | 98 |
11 | Indiana | 93 |
12 | Minnesota | 83 |
13 | Ohio | 82 |
14 | Pennsylvania | 71 |
15 | Iowa | 66 |
16 | Missouri | 65 |
17 | Michigan | 56 |
18 | Colorado | 55 |
19 | Mississippi | 53 |
20 | Montana | 46 |
21 | Wisconsin | 42 |
22 | Alabama | 36 |
23 | Arkansas | 33 |
24 | Newbraska | 31 |
25 | Georgia | 28 |
26 | Virginia | 27 |
27 | North Carolina | 24 |
28 | Kentucky | 21 |
29 | South Carolina | 19 |
30 | Alaska | 16 |
30 | New York | 16 |
32 | Tennessee | 15 |
33 | South Dakota | 14 |
33 | Washington | 14 |
35 | Florida | 13 |
36 | Maryland | 11 |
37 | Utah | 9 |
38 | Idaho | 8 |
38 | Oregon | 8 |
40 | Hawaii | 7 |
41 | West Virginia | 6 |
42 | Massachesueuts | 3 |
43 | Conneticut | 2 |
43 | Maine | 2 |
43 | Nevada | 2 |
43 | Puerto Rico | 2 |
47 | Arizona | 0 |
47 | Delaware | 0 |
47 | New Hampshire | 0 |
47 | Vermont | 0 |
Of the 4,901 spills during this period, Texas accounts for 1,936 or roughly 40% of all oil and gas spills. This is followed by Oklahoma, which has had 407 spills and is one of the largest net exporters of oil and gas in the country.
What Causes Spills?
Oil and gas spills actually have a surprisingly long history, with one of the earliest dating back to 1889, when a spill was reported on the coast between Los Angeles and San Diego.
Causes have consisted primarily of weather, natural disasters, equipment and technological malfunction, as well as human error.
However, they only became a widespread problem around the halfway mark of the 20th century, when petroleum extraction and production really began to take off. This era also saw the emergence of supertankers, which can transport half a million tons of oil but therefore make the risk of spills even costlier.
In fact, the biggest spill off U.S. waters after the Deepwater Horizon disaster is the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, when a tanker crashed into a reef and 11 million gallons of oil spilled into the Pacific Ocean.
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