At least 31 years because of the shale boom
U.S. crude production climbed above 9 million barrels a day last week for the first time in at least 31 years because of the shale boom.
Output rose 1 percent to 9.06 million barrels a day, the most since at least January 1983, when the weekly data series from the Energy Information Administration began. The EIA has monthly data going back to 1920 and that shows production is at the highest level since February 1986.
“This number speaks to the incredible growth in U.S. production,” John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund that focuses on energy, said by phone. “This is an important milestone that will stand and there’s more to come. Prices will have to go much lower before we see production drop back.”
The combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has unlocked supplies from shale formations in the central U.S., including the Bakken in North Dakota and the Eagle Ford in Texas.
U.S. crude production will rise to an average of 8.57 million barrels a day this year, up from 7.46 million last year, the EIA said in its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook yesterday. Output is projected to climb 9.9 percent to 9.42 million barrels a day in 2015, the most since 1972. The agency reduced its 2015 U.S. oil production outlook.