US Crude Oil Production Nears Full Recovery After Storm Hit Output

Only around 0.7% of national output still halted after winter storm disruptions

Feb. 2, 2026 at 5:55pm

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Crude oil producers in the United States continued bringing oil wells back online on Monday, with only around 0.7% of national output still halted in the aftermath of a winter storm that ravaged production last month. The late-January storm and prolonged freeze knocked out about 6.3 million barrels of U.S. crude oil output in total, with outages peaking at 2 million barrels per day on January 24.

Why it matters

The disruption to U.S. crude oil production from the winter storm highlights the vulnerability of the country's energy infrastructure to extreme weather events, which are expected to become more frequent and severe due to climate change. The quick recovery of production is crucial for maintaining global oil supply and prices.

The details

According to consultancy Energy Aspects, some 100,000 barrels per day of crude output remained shut, with the bulk of the losses in the Anadarko region followed by Appalachia. However, it looks like production is fully restored in the Permian Basin, which accounts for around half of U.S. crude output.

  • The late-January storm and prolonged freeze knocked out about 6.3 million barrels of U.S. crude oil output in total.
  • Outages from the extreme winter weather peaked at 2 million barrels per day on January 24.

The players

Energy Aspects

A consultancy firm that provided analysis on the crude oil production outages.

Permian Basin

A major oil-producing region in Texas and New Mexico that accounts for around half of U.S. crude output.

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What they’re saying

“It looks like production is fully restored in the Permian,”

— Jessie Jones, Analyst

The takeaway

The quick recovery of U.S. crude oil production after the winter storm disruptions highlights the resilience of the country's energy infrastructure, but also underscores the need to invest in modernizing and hardening critical energy systems to withstand the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events driven by climate change.