Clicky

EnergyCollective
Guides

Oil & gas

Oil and gas, from the wellhead to the pump.

10 articles

Blue natural gas flames on a gas stove burner

Updated

What natural gas is and how the US uses it

Natural gas is a fossil fuel that made 40% of US electricity in 2025, and the US produced a record 39.29 trillion…
A Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling rig above a rural road in Pennsylvania

Updated

What fracking is and how much US oil and gas comes from it

Fracking is short for hydraulic fracturing, a technique that injects water, sand and small volumes of chemical additives into low-permeability rock to…
An oil refinery at Anacortes, Washington

Updated

What fossil fuels are and how much of the world still runs on them

Fossil fuels supplied 86% of the world's energy in 2025, according to the Energy Institute's Statistical Review. The US got 82% of…
Hand connecting a compressed natural gas nozzle to a car's fuel inlet

Updated

Where natural gas vehicles are common, and why the US never caught on

Natural gas vehicles number in the millions in Iran, China and Pakistan but never caught on in the US, even with fuel that costs less than gasoline.
A Marcellus shale natural gas drilling rig and well site in rural Pennsylvania

Updated

How much water does fracking use?

How much water does fracking use? A typical horizontal shale gas well takes about 5.1 million gallons, and per-well use has climbed as wells got longer.
An oil pump jack in a field near Iago, Texas

Updated

Why oil prices swing so much, and how much OPEC still controls

A look at oil price history shows crude swinging from $147 a barrel to negative prices, while OPEC's own share of the market keeps shrinking.
The Syncrude oil sands mining and upgrading works at Mildred Lake, Alberta

Updated

What happened to Keystone XL and Canada’s oil sands

TC Energy cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline in 2021, and Canada's oil sands kept growing anyway. See what's driving new pipeline plans for 2026.
A natural gas flare burning at an oil production platform

Updated

How much methane leaks from US oil and gas

US oil and gas methane leaks run at least 13 million tons a year by EDF's count, about 60% above the EPA estimate. See what that means for gas vs coal.
A crude oil tanker docked at Port Arthur, Texas

Updated

Is the US energy independent in 2026?

Is US energy independence real in 2026? The US posts record oil output and net energy exports, yet crude imports still run 6.2 million barrels a day.
A Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling rig above a rural road in Pennsylvania

Updated

How the US shale gas boom changed the energy market

The US shale gas boom turned America into the world's top LNG exporter and pushed natural gas prices to a record low in 2024, before a 2025 rebound.