US oil production (crude plus NGLs) rose by almost 200,000 b/d to 12.926mn b/d in September (see table, MEES, 20 October), the second highest figure ever behind the record 13.002mn b/d hit in April 2015. The latest Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO) of the US Government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), had projected that this month would break the record. However this will not materialize in the wake of Hurricane Nate which shut down around 90% of crude production in the Gulf of Mexico, knocking off over 1mn b/d of crude output for the week ending 13 October. Last week’s output was just 8.406mn b/d, versus 9.480mn b/d the previous week, according to provisional EIA data.
The latest STEO revised up its estimate of 2018 US crude output by 80,000 b/d to 9.92mn b/d, though NGLs was revised down by 40,000 b/d to 4.23mn b/d. Both figures would be all-time highs. The latest figures on US shale output and the country’s rig count are less bullish than the previous stats. The US oil rig count fell by a further five to 743 for the week ending 13 October, with the total now 25 below the recent peak of 768 set in early August. (CONTINUED - 264 WORDS)
