Initial production rates in tight oil formations continue to rise

Tight oil production in the United States increased from 2007 through April 2015, based on estimates in EIA's Drilling Productivity Report (DPR), and made up more than half of total U.S. oil production in 2015. Tight oil growth has been driven by increasing initial production rates from tight wells in regions analyzed in the DPR. As drilling techniques and technology improve, producers are able to extract more oil during the initial months of production from new wells. More »