Crude oil prices ended the year lower
The price of crude oil ended 2018 lower than it was at the start of the year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
In 2018, Brent crude oil averaged $72 per barrel (b) while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) averaged $65/b. Brent ended the year at $54/b, which was $13/b lower than it began the year, while WTI ended the year at $45/b, which was $15/b lower than it began the year. The prices reached a low of $50/b and $43/b, respectively, on Dec. 24, and reached a high of $86/b and $76/b, respectively, on Oct. 3.
This is the first year since 2015 that crude oil prices ended the year at a lower price than at the beginning of the year.
Further, U.S. crude oil and other liquids production increased in 2018, averaging 17.8 million barrels per day (b/d) for the year. This is the highest level since 1994. It marks an increase of 2.2 million b/d from 2017. The United States surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia in 2018 to become the largest crude oil producer in the world.
U.S. crude oil exports averaged 1.9 million b/d in 2018, which is roughly double the amount that was exported in 2017. For one week in late November, the United States was a net exporter for the first time in EIA’s data history.
The crude oil production from Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will average 39.2 million b/d in 2018, down slightly from 39.3 million b/d in 2017, according to EIA.
Crude oil production increased in Saudi Arabia in the second half of 2018, partially offsetting Iran’s declining production as a result of the U.S. sanctions on OPEC’s total production levels.
Russian crude oil and other liquids production increased from an estimated 11.2 million b/d in January to a forecasted 11.6 million b/d in December.
