US crude oil production passes 11 million barrels per day for first time
U.S. crude oil production continues to climb, and as of August 2018, it crossed a record-setting 11 million barrels per day.
At a total of 11.3 million barrels per day, production levels beat out even Russian competition, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Primarily, this growth was led by Texas, with a record 4.6 million barrels produced per day — an increase of 683,000 b/d reached between January and August. New Mexican production also rose in that same period by 182,000 b/d, but records were being set in many areas, including Oklahoma, Colorado, West Virginia, North Dakota and the Federal Offshore Gulf of Mexico.
Between May and August, the production from the Gulf of Mexico grew by an average of 130,000 b/d each month.
Such growth surpassed the EIA’s expectations, with pipeline capacity proving no issue for an industry actively increasing trucking and rail transport, as well as pipeline efficiency. High crude oil prices are likely to continue throughout 2018 and 2019, and will only drive crude oil production higher.
