EIA: US Shale Output to Jump in April

Shale output at seven major US oil and gas plays will climb by 131,000 barrels per day next month to hit 6.95 million bpd, according to a new report by the Energy Information Administration on Monday.

The Permian Basin, in New Mexico and Texas, will see the biggest climb, the data show. The basin, which has developed as the ground zero of the next shale boom, will see an 80,000-bpd jump in production, Oil Price reported.

Texas’ Eagle Ford basin, as well North Dakota’s Bakken and Nebraska’s Niobrara basins, will also see sizable jumps, totaling 47,000 barrels per day.

“EIA's approach does not distinguish between oil-directed and gas-directed rigs because once a well is completed it may produce both oil and gas; more than half of the wells produce both,” the report clarified.

After the oil price crash that began in mid-2014, crude oil production growth in the US stalled. In 2016, annual production in the Bakken and Eagle Ford formations fell by 10-20%, but production in the Permian Basin continued to grow.

At present, production has reached a record 3 million barrels per day, making it the world’s second-most-prolific field, behind the legendary Ghawar in Saudi Arabia.