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FACT BRIEF

Did the US become the No. 1 producer of oil and natural gas during Donald Trump’s presidency?

By Tom Kertscher
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NO

The U.S. became the world’s largest oil producer under Donald Trump, but the largest natural gas producer six years before he became president.

The U.S. became No. 1 in natural gas in 2011, supplanting Russia.

Trump took office in 2017. In 2018, the U.S. jumped from third to first in oil, passing Russia and Saudi Arabia.

The latest figures show the U.S. remains No. 1 in both under President Joe Biden.

The U.S. produced 12.9 million barrels of oil daily in 2023, exceeding Trump’s high of 12.25 million in 2019.

The U.S. produced more than 36,353 billion cubic feet of natural gas in 2022.

The oil and gas production claim was made in the 2024 Republican National Committee platform, adopted July 15, 2024, at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Asked for evidence, the RNC did not provide figures to back the claim.

See a full discussion of this at Wisconsin Watch
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Sources
US Energy Information Administration Dry natural gas production 2022
US Energy Information Administration OVERVIEW DATA ANALYSIS RANKINGS Crude oil including lease condensate production 2023
US Energy Information Administration Crude oil including lease condensate production 2023
US Energy Information Administration Dry natural gas production 2022
American Presidency Project 2024 GOP Platform
CNN What you need to know about the GOP's Trump-centered platform
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.