US Shale Oil Production to Rise 144,000 Barrels a Day in June

Energy

Published: May 14, 2018 2:52 pm

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 11:38 pm

Between June of 2017 and June of 2018, U.S. crude oil production from seven major shale regions is forecast to rise by 1.78 million barrels of oil per day to 7.18 million barrels a day. Next month alone the total is expected to rise by 144,000 barrels a day.

The forecast was published Monday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its monthly Drilling Productivity Report. Total production in May is forecast to reach 7.03 million barrels a day, an increase of 163,000 barrels a day compared with previously estimated May production.

Last August the drilling productivity report added production from the Anadarko basin of Oklahoma and Texas and combined the Marcellus and Utica basins into a single Appalachia region.

In March the number of drilled but uncompleted (DUC) wells rose by 94 to a total of 7,622 including 122 new wells in the Permian basin.

In April the number of drilled but uncompleted wells rose by 55 to a total of 7,677 including 111 new wells in the Permian basin.

No overall oil production declines are forecast either for May or June, and production from new wells is looking for an increase in production of 2 barrels per day per rig. Production from new rigs is either expected to rise by 12 barrels a day from April to May.

Natural gas production is expected to increase by 1.09 billion cubic feet per day. Production in the Permian Basin is expected to rise by 225 million cubic feet in June. Haynesville gas production is forecast to rise by 201 million cubic feet per day and Niobrara production is expected to be up by 49 million cubic feet per day.

WTI crude oil for June delivery settled Monday at $70.96 a barrel, up about 0.4% from Friday’s closing price of $70.70. June crude opened at $70.56 Monday morning.

Natural gas for June delivery settled Monday at $2.84 per million BTUs, up about 1% from Friday’s closing price of $2.81. June gas opened at around $2.83 Monday morning.