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Energy Facts

Below are facts about New Mexico energy and factors that can grow our nation's energy and economic security:

Jobs and Revenue:

  • America’s oil and natural gas industry supports 9.2 million jobs throughout the economy and 7.5 percent of GDP.
  • In New Mexico alone, 88,814 jobs are supported by the oil and gas industry. These jobs add $8.3 billion to New Mexico’s gross state product, or 12.2% of its wealth.
  • Oil and natural gas industry revenue funds 30% of New Mexico’s General Fund 
  • The industry provided nearly $1.5 billion in 2010 for essential state services like schools, road repair and public works
  • Increased domestic access to energy could generate $1.7 trillion in government revenue, create more than 530,000 new jobs by 2025.
  • The national average annual salary for oil and gas exploration and production is $96,844 or about $47 per hour – more than double the average annual salary of all occupations.

Energy Usage:

  • Although more than two-thirds of New Mexico’s households use natural gas as their primary energy source for home heating, State natural gas consumption is low. Less than one-tenth of New Mexico’s natural gas is used in the State.
  • About three-fifths of New Mexican coal is used within the State; the remainder is delivered by rail primarily to electricity generators in Arizona.

Energy Production:

  • New Mexico has two major natural gas and oil producing areas: the Permian Basin and the San Juan Basin
  • The San Juan Basin located in New Mexico and Colorado contains the nation’s largest field of proved natural gas reserves.  The New Mexico portion of the Permian Basin contains three of the 100 largest oil fields in the US
  • The United States is estimated to have enough natural gas to meet 100 percent of current domestic demand for at least 90 years.
  • America produces 5.4 million barrels of crude oil per day, 164 million barrels, per month, and almost 2 billion barrels per year.
  • The United States produces 72 billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas a day, 2,200bcf per month and 26,000bcf per year.
  • If American increases domestic access:
    • The Gulf of Mexico could hold 3.8 billion barrels of oil and 21.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
    • Opening the Atlantic coastline could make available 3.8 billion barrels of oil and 37 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
    • The National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and adjacent state waters holds 896 million barrels of undiscovered oil and about 53 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas.
    • Two new nuclear reactors could come online in South Carolina by 2016, if licensing and construction go as planned.

Energy Investments:

  • Since 2000, the oil and natural gas industry has invested $1.7 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives, while reducing the industry’s environmental footprint.
  • Between 2000 and 2008, the industry invested more than $58 billion in new low and zero carbon emissions technologies.

Additional Sources: