Oil and gas production in the US is set to break records in 2023

Despite the Cop28 countries pushing towards a phase-out of fossil fuels, the US is anticipated to extract 12.9m barrels of crude oil by the end of this year.

With 2023 expected to be the hottest year on record, the US is expected to extract more oil and gas than ever before. This will present a challenging environment for the key UN climate talks, which are expected to result in an agreement to end the fossil fuel era.

Even in the face of warnings from Joe Biden himself about the impending climate crisis, the US has maintained its position as the world's largest producer of gas and oil this year. According to the most recent federal government forecast, a record 12.9 million barrels of crude oil — more than twice as much as was produced a decade ago — will be extracted in 2023.

This year will also break records for gas production, as a surge in newly constructed export facilities along the Gulf of Mexico coast will allow US shipments of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, to quadruple over the following four years.

Remarkably, the US government anticipates that this flurry of activity related to oil and gas will continue at almost record levels until 2050, when experts say emissions that heat the globe must be reduced in order to prevent a catastrophic collapse of the climate. According to a recent assessment, the US will account for one-third of the global expansion of oil and gas expected during this time.