U.S. crude oil production surged by 416,000 barrels per day (bpd) to a record 11.346 million bpd in August, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a monthly report on Wednesday as production in Texas and North Dakota climbed to fresh peaks.
Texas output jumped by 126,000 bpd to a high of 4.58 million and production in North Dakota edged higher by 22,000 bpd to 1.28 million, the data showed.
The agency revised its overall July production figure slightly lower to 10.93 million bpd.
U.S. total oil demand in August was up 5.2 percent, or 1.1 million bpd, to 21.3 million bpd compared with last year, as strong distillate demand made up for flat growth in gasoline demand, EIA data showed.
U.S. gasoline demand rose less than 1 percent, or 4,000 bpd, to 9.7 million bpd in August compared with last year, according to EIA data. U.S. distillate demand rose 4.2 percent, or 169,000 bpd, to 4.1 million bpd in August.
Crude oil output from the United States has boomed due to a shale revolution, with production from the nation’s largest oilfield, the Permian basin that spans West Texas and New Mexico, leading the way.
At more than 11 million bpd, the United States is now one of the world’s biggest producers, rivaling long-time leaders Saudi Arabia and Russia. Production from Texas alone tops several Middle Eastern OPEC members.
Russian oil production has risen to a post-Soviet record high of 11.41 million bpd so far in October, up from 11.36 mln bpd in September, an industry source familiar with the output data told Reuters on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia, after opening the taps in June and then scaling back its plans to pump more, supplied 10.65 million bpd in October, more than in June and close to a record high, a Reuters survey found.
The August rise in U.S. crude output of 416,000 bpd reported by EIA was the biggest monthly increase in crude production since October 2008, when output rose by 766,000 bpd.
In the federal offshore Gulf of Mexico, output rose to a monthly record high 1.9 million bpd in August, according to EIA data going back to 1981.
Meanwhile, natural gas production in the lower 48 U.S. states rose to an all-time high of 94.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in August, up from the prior record of 92.7 bcfd in July, according to EIA’s 914 production report.
In Texas, the nation’s largest gas producer, production increased to a record high 24.9 bcfd in August, up 1.7 percent from July. That compares with output of 21.8 bcfd in August 2017.
In Pennsylvania, the second biggest gas producing state, production rose to a record high 17.3 bcfd in August, up 1.8 percent from July. That compares with output of 14.5 bcfd in August 2017.
Source: Reuters
