EIA: U.S. Crude Oil Production Down 60,000 Barrels per Day in November

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In its most recent Short-Term Energy Outlook report, released December 8, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) states that U.S. crude oil production declined by about 60,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) in November 2015 compared to October, averaging approximately 9.2 million BBL/d in November.

The EIA expects U.S. crude oil production to continue to decline through September 2016, when it is forecast to reach an average of 8.5 million BBL/d, before picking up again to bring the average daily production to an estimated 8.8 million BBL/d for the whole of 2016. The agency estimates that U.S. production will average 9.3 million BBL/d this year.

U.S. crude oil reserves have risen for the past 11 reported weeks, reaching 489.4 million barrels for the week ending November 27. U.S. natural gas storage also remains at very high levels, setting a new storage record in the week ending November 20 at 4,009 billion cubic feet (Bcf). While this declined slightly in the following week, natural gas in storage remained about 16% higher than the same time a year ago.

Click on image at right for a representation of U.S. commercial crude oil stocks (Souce: EIA).

The EIA expects continued declines in crude oil production in most of the major oil-producing shale formations, including the Bakken, Eagle Ford and Niobrara, which have shown consistent declines in output since the late spring/early summer of this year. In its latest Drilling Productivity Report, released Monday, December 7, the EIA forecasts that monthly crude oil production in the Eagle Ford Shale will decline by about 77,000 BBL/d in January to 1.2 million BBL/d, and the agency expects the Bakken to show a 27,000-BBL/d drop to about 1.1 million BBL/d. Production in the Permian Region is expected to continue a year of sustained growth, rising approximately 14,350 BBL/d in January to 2.03 million barrels.

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