A report from the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association said the state produced 172 million barrels of oil during 2017 to set a new high. The state capped off the year by tapping into 17.2 million barrels in December alone.

The NMOGA's report said the state sits third in the country's leading oil producers. Oil output in the Permian Basin in southeastern New Mexico is projected to double by 2023, according to the report.

“Growing New Mexico’s oil and natural gas industry means growth in jobs, the economy, and funding for our public schools and state budget,” said Ryan Flynn, executive director of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association said in a statement. “2017 was a record-breaking year because of the prolific growth and potential producers are seeing in the Permian Basin. Last year, oil and natural gas producers invested more than $13 billion in New Mexico, and these investments are clearly beginning to have an overwhelmingly positive impact. New Mexico is blessed with abundant natural resources, and safely and responsibly developing our oil and natural gas economy is key to New Mexico’s future.”

A big player that will be tapping into the oil-rich Permian will be Texas-headquartered ExxonMobil, which plans to invest $2 billion to triple daily production to over 600,000 barrels per day by 2025. Exxon recently announced it will be aiming to more than double its yearly earnings from $15 billion to $31 billion by 2025, according to previous Business First reporting.

A report from NMOGA in January found $934 million of the $1.743 billion in impact from the oil and gas impact goes to education — $711 million distributed among public and charter schools and $223 million for higher education institutions.

“Regardless of where New Mexicans live or make their home, our oil and gas industry is providing support for every public school and local community,” Flynn said. “This industry is the foundation of our state’s economy and is poised to grow jobs and revenue for our children, if New Mexico remains a favorable place for oil and gas producers to do business.”

Exxon was New Mexico's No. 9 top oil producer by producing over 7.2 million barrels in 2016, but had the greatest positive change in production from 2015 to 2016 than every other oil company on the list by expanding its New Mexico operations by 113.9 percent. Texas-based Concho Resources, at over 27 million barrels, was Business First's top producer.