Public companies produce most U.S. crude oil and natural gas

This is a look at who actually pumps the oil and gas that heats homes and fuels power plants across the country. New federal data show that publicly traded companies made up just 2% of the roughly 12,000 crude oil and natural gas producers in the Lower 48 states in 2025, but they produced 68% of the oil and gas. Big public companies tend to hold better drilling land, use more advanced technology, and operate at a scale that lowers their costs, which is why a small number of firms produce so much. The 12 companies with the most wells run anywhere from 10,000 to over 50,000 wells each, while most operators, 64% of them, run 10 or fewer wells and produce very small amounts.

This pattern varies by region. In Appalachia (the Northeast) and the Permian Basin (New Mexico and Texas), public companies dominate production even though they're a tiny share of the operators. The exception is the Haynesville region, which spans Texas and Louisiana and is rich in natural gas. There, private companies actually produce more than half the output, led by a handful of large private operators.

For homeowners, this doesn't change anything directly about your utility bill or your house. It's background on the structure of the oil and gas industry, useful mainly for understanding who controls the supply that feeds into national energy prices and, indirectly, the case for reducing reliance on that supply through home energy upgrades.