Foreign Direct Investment in U.S. Energy 2006 Contacts | Home

Release Date: June 2009
Next Release Date: February 2010 

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Oil and Gas Production

Many foreign direct investors in the U.S. oil (crude oil and natural gas liquids) and natural gas production industry evidenced small declines in both their U.S. oil and natural gas production in 2006, resulting in declines in total production by investors (see table below). Both of these declines were led by BP (England and Wales), although Total (France) was a major contributor to the decline in natural gas production. Among the companies that expanded production, EnCana (Canada) and Norsk Hydro (Norway) notably increased their natural gas production, with the latter the only FDI affiliate to show an oil production increase of greater than 1 million barrels. Norsk Hydro’s growth largely resulted from ramped up production at its Gulf of Mexico properties. BHP Billiton (Australia) saw its production of both oil and natural gas fall to about half of their 2005 levels, which was in part due to its sale of several blocks in the Gulf and the effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.[1] The FDI-affiliate shares of both oil and natural gas production in the United States have been drifting downward since 2003 (see figure).

Production* of Oil and Natural Gas in the United States by FDI-Affiliate Companies, 2005 and 2006
Foreign Parent (Country) Crude Oil and Natural Gas Liquids
 (Million Barrels)
Natural Gas
(Billion Cubic Feet)
2005 2006 2005 - 2006 Percent Change 2005 2006 2005 - 2006 Percent Change
BP (England & Wales)a 200.0 178.0 -11.0 R1,018.0 941.0 -7.6
Royal Dutch Shell (England & Wales)b 122.0 117.0 -4.1 420.0 425.0 1.2
Eni (Italy)c 6.9 7.7 10.5 R27.1 23.2 -14.3
Nexen (Canada) 7.0 5.0 -28.6 36.0 34.0 -5.6
EnCana (Canada) 5.0 4.7 -6.0 400.0 431.0 7.7
Norsk Hydro (Norway) ** 3.1 4,200.0 1.1 24.7 2,160.0
BHP Billiton (Australia)d 5.8 3.0 -47.8 15.0 8.0 -46.5
Provident Energy Trust (Canada)e R2.5 2.7 5.4 R0.8 0.8 5.4
Total (France) 3.3 2.2 -33.3 63.5 17.2 -73.0
Petróleo Brasileiro (Brazil) 0.6 0.5 -22.7 6.2 5.8 -6.1
Energy XXI (Bermuda)f - - 0.4 - - - - 2.5 - -
Santos (Australia)g 0.3 0.1 -66.7 R4.5 8.1 1.0
Petsec Energy (Australia)h R** ** -48.5 R6.3 8.1 28.6
Talisman Energy (Canada)i 0.0 0.0 0.0 32.7 30.9 -5.7
Total FDI-Affiliate Companies R354 324 -8.2 R2,031 1,960 -3.5
Total United States 2,517 2,497 -0.8 18,051 18,476 2.4
Percent FDI-Affiliate Companies R14.0 13.0 - - R11.3 10.6 - -
   aExcludes natural gas liquids from processing plants; includes natural gas consumed in Alaska operations.
   bFDI affiliate owned jointly with Exxon Mobil.
   cIncludes natural gas consumed in operations.
   dFor years ending June 30.
   eProvident produced 0.8 million barrels of oil and 0.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas in the United States in 2004.
   fFor the period July 25, 2005 - June 30, 2006.
   gNatural gas production is approximate.
   hPetsec produced 0.02 and 0.01 million barrels of oil and 4.4 and 5.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas in the United States in 2003 and 2004.
   iExcludes Alaska in 2005.
   *Production of oil and natural gas in the United States by other foreign direct investors for which complete information could not be obtained were IB Daiwa (Japan), Nippon Oil Exploration (Japan), Statoil (Norway), and  Woodside Petroleum (Australia).
  Notes:  - = No data reported.  - - = Not applicable.  NM = Not meaningful.  R = Revised data.  ** = Number less
 than 0.05 rounded to zero.  Calculations performed with unrounded data.
   Sources:  Companies:  Company documents.  U.S. Totals:  Energy Information Administration, Monthly Energy Review, DOE/EIA-0035(2009/01) (Washington, DC, January 2009), Tables 3.1a and 4.1.

[1] Because BHP reports its data for its fiscal years, which end on June 30, its 2006 data include the latter half of 2005.