About the Other 44 States

It's definitely easier to make infographics on the optimistic side of the US oil argument. EID's latest highlights increasing production from shale development, but also makes it pretty easy to notice that they're talking about just six states.

You could almost imagine the exact opposite infographic titled "Oil and Gas Development Sinks Across the Nation" highlighting the other 44 states that go unmentioned in EID's graphic. 

Many would argue that these six states are simply more important for oil and gas production than the other 44, and I don't disagree with that. But it's important to remember that production is a combination of additions and subtractions. If all you do is discuss the additions and never mention declining conventional oil production, then you'll never have a full view of the current state and potential futures of oil production. The full story in US oil production is both the story of the recent tight oil boom, but it's also the story of domestic conventional production and its consistent decline over the past 40 years. That perspective will allow you to understand just how MUCH we're going to ask out of US tight oil production over the next decade, not only to make it for its own dramatic production declines, but - the bigger challenge - to continue to make up for conventional oil's declines.