Texas Oil Production 2026 — Trends, Data & Outlook

March 15, 2026 • 7 min read

Texas produces more crude oil than any other state by a wide margin — and more than most countries. In 2026, Texas is producing approximately 5.5-5.8 million barrels of oil per day, driven overwhelmingly by the Permian Basin. Here is what the production landscape looks like and what is driving the trends.

Production by Basin

Texas oil production comes primarily from three regions:

• Permian Basin — Approximately 4.0-4.2 million bbl/d. This is the engine. The Midland and Delaware basins continue to set production records, though the rate of growth has moderated from the explosive 2017-2019 period.
• Eagle Ford Shale — Approximately 1.0-1.1 million bbl/d. Production has stabilized after declining from its 2015 peak. A smaller number of rigs are drilling more efficient wells.
• Other basins — The remaining production comes from conventional fields across North Texas, the Panhandle, and legacy fields statewide. These areas contribute steady but slowly declining volumes.

Key Trends in 2026

Capital Discipline

The biggest shift in Texas oil production over the past few years is operator behavior. After a decade of "growth at all costs," public E&P companies have shifted to capital discipline — returning cash to shareholders through dividends and buybacks rather than aggressively reinvesting in drilling. This means:

• Rig counts are lower than they would be at current oil prices in previous cycles
• Production growth has moderated to 2-5% annually instead of the 10-15% growth seen in 2017-2019
• Companies are focusing on their best acreage (core locations) rather than drilling marginal areas

Consolidation

The M&A wave continues. ExxonMobil acquired Pioneer, ConocoPhillips acquired Marathon Oil and Concho Resources, Diamondback acquired multiple companies, and Occidental acquired Anadarko. The result is fewer, larger operators who are more focused on returns and less on production growth. See our ExxonMobil/XTO and ConocoPhillips operator pages for more detail.

Longer Laterals

Average horizontal lateral lengths continue to increase. In the Permian Basin, 3-mile laterals are becoming more common in areas with contiguous acreage. Longer laterals produce more oil per well, improving capital efficiency even as per-well costs increase.

Inventory Concerns

The industry is beginning to grapple with Tier 1 inventory depletion in parts of the Permian Basin. While total undrilled locations remain large, the highest-quality locations (core of the core) are being drilled at a rapid pace. This is one reason for the M&A wave — operators are acquiring inventory through acquisitions rather than organic exploration.

Texas Well Count

MineralSearch tracks 1.31 million Texas wells, with over 280,000 currently producing. The state sees approximately 8,000-10,000 new drilling permits per year, though not all permitted wells are drilled. See our drilling permits guide for more on how to track permit activity.

Production Data Access

Monthly Texas production data is reported to the Railroad Commission by operators and published with a 2-3 month lag. MineralSearch ingests this data and makes it searchable by well, lease, county, or operator. For EIA-level state and national production data, the U.S. Energy Information Administration publishes monthly estimates with less granularity but faster publication timelines.