Energy Industry Renaissance: The Horizontal Well WHAT LED TO THESE INCREASES? WHAT IS CORE LAB’S ROLE? Currently, the three largest unconventional tight-oil developments in the world are  located in the United States. The Bakken and Eagle Ford formations and several  formations in the Permian Basin are leading the way in crude-oil production gains  in the U.S. Additionally, the Marcellus Shale formation has expanded natural gas  production by almost 10 BCFD, and its southwestern locations also are now yielding  large quantities of light oils and NGLs.  Core Lab has played a leading role in developing technologies that have made this  Renaissance possible. The theme portion of Core’s 2013 Annual Report will detail  the Company’s involvement in delivering cutting-edge technologies to the major  unconventional tight-oil plays in the United States — and identify the enormous  international opportunities for Core over the next decade. Core believes that the number  of horizontal wells will con- tinue to increase worldwide,  outnumbering vertical wells  in a decade. According to a recent study by IHS, a leading provider of diverse global market and  economic information, unconventional hydrocarbon production from horizontal wells now supports 2,100,000 jobs in the United States, with projections of up to 3,900,000 jobs by 2025. There is an Energy Industry Renaissance underway owing to technologies being  applied to The Horizontal Well. North America, especially the United States, is  leading the way. U.S. liquids production is at the highest level since 1988, and  the natural gas industry is gearing up for exports of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)  that could commence as early as 2016. Crude oil exports, banned in the U.S. since  the early 1970s, are also being discussed; and that would further bolster North  American, especially U.S., oilfield activity levels.  Over the past three years, crude-oil production in the United States has increased  over 2,000,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD), to nearly 8,000,000 BOPD; and U.S.  natural gas production now tops a record 75 billion cubic feet per day (BCFD),  reversing decades of declines. When natural gas liquids (NGLs) production is added,  the U.S. is established as the top hydrocarbon-producing country in the world. 