The history of fossil fuel production in the United States

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Coal was in commercial use by the early 1800s throughout the eastern United States where it powered the early stages of industrialization, especially steel production. Coal was abundant, geographically widespread, and relatively easy to extract. Very simple mining techniques for shallow deposits such as bell pits had been in use in the United Kingdom since medieval times.1

Oil came next beginning in the 1860s. Kerosene was the principal fuel produced from oil because it proved to be an effective illuminant for lamps that replaced less efficient candles and more expensive whale oil. Fuels derived from oil would become the backbone of the global transportation and chemical industries in the 20th century.

Natural gas expanded rapidly after World War II when long-distance pipeline transmission became technically and economically feasible. Natural gas would ultimately develop diverse end uses, becoming a major source of electricity generation and the primary heating fuel in the economy’s residential, industrial, and commercial sectors.

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Coal dominated total fossil fuel use deep into the 20th century. Beginning in the early decades of the 20th century, the rollout of the automobile, the petrochemical industry, marine shipping, and air travel spurred a huge increase in the demand for oil. After World War II, natural gas increased market share, ultimately relegating coal to electricity generation and steel production.

Coal regained some of its share of the fossil fuel market in the wake of the “energy crises” of the 1970s and 1980s. By that time, the United States was relying heavily on imported oil. Oil prices skyrocketed in 1973–74 and again in 1979–80. The oil price shocks were calamitous, causing recessions, unemployment, high fuel prices, and long lines of motorists at gasoline stations. The United States government placed a premium on boosting reliance on domestic sources of energy. Natural gas was still relatively scarce compared to today, but coal was abundant, and the shift to western surface mines offered new sources of low-cost production. The result was a significant increase in the use of coal in electricity generation.

The impact of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) on oil and gas production is striking. When oil and natural gas production peaked in the early 1970s, many observers believed that a continuous decline was inevitable. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Fracking combined with favorable prices brought tremendous volumes of low-quality oil and gas resources to market. The effect of fracking on natural gas was particularly striking. By the early 2020s, it accounted for nearly half of US fossil fuel production.

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From 1800 to 2022, coal accounted for about 39% of all fossil fuel production in the United States, followed by natural gas (33%) and oil (28%). These aggregate shares are shifting away from coal towards oil and natural gas due to the aforementioned impact of fracking and the ongoing decline in new investment in coal-fired electric generation capacity.

1 British Geological Survey, Coal mining, https://www2.bgs.ac.uk/mendips/more_info/coal_mining.htm

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