ConocoPhillips (COP), Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM): Do You Live in a Top-5 Oil-Producing State?

2. North Dakota
Ninety-five percent of North Dakota’s oil is produced via horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. The Bakken Shale has single-handedly pushed the state up the ranks of the oil producers. Last year, North Dakota passed both Alaska and California on its way to second place, and though it is still far behind Texas, it’s growth has been incredible in such a short period of time, though there are concerns about the decline rates of Bakken wells. The EIA estimates that production averaged about 770,000 barrels per day (including lease condensate) by the end of 2012. The top producers in the state are Continental Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CLR) and Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES).

1. Texas
No surprise here. Texas has long been the country’s top oil producer. Though it is still off its record numbers from the 1970s, Texas is in the midst of a one heck of an energy renaissance. Between the developing shale plays and the reinvigorated vertical wells in West Texas’ Permian Basin, and the emergence of the Eagle Ford Shale in East Texas, the state is head and shoulders above all other U.S. oil producers. The top producers in Texas are Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) and EOG Resources Inc (NYSE:EOG). As recently as last year, Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE:KMI) was the second-highest producer in the state, which goes to show how quickly the story can change.

Foolish takeaway
Technology has completely changed the oil production game in North Dakota. The state features growing oil production and the nation’s lowest unemployment rate, contrasting sharply with California’s declining oil production and the nation’s highest unemployment rate. Technology has also reinvigorated the oil game in Texas, serving as an example to California and Alaska that there could theoretically be more oil in their futures as well.

The article Do You Live in a Top-5 Oil-Producing State? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Aimee Duffy.

Fool contributor Aimee Duffy has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Chevron.

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