US Shale Output Rising

New Energy Information Administration data put US shale output up 117,000 barrels per day in September compared to August. Production in the Permian Basin is expected to see the largest jump next month, representing 64,000 bpd of the 117,000-bpd total gains. The Niobrara, Eagle Ford, Bakken and Anadarko basins are forecasted to see outputs jumps of 10,000 bpd or more each, Oil Price reported. Earlier this month, four US shale companies reported second-quarter production that beat targets and increased their respective full-year output growth guidance. US drillers expect to continue raising production this year, but some are adjusting spending to the expected cash flows in the current oil price environment, after prices failed to rise as much as analysts and investors had expected a few months ago. “$50 a barrel is still a pretty critical number and that number is going to be even more critical as we move into next year,” Tortoise Capital Advisors’ Rob Thummel told Bloomberg, adding that “in the best parts of the basins, shale is here to stay”.