US oil production hit new record at 14mn b/d: EIA

US oil production hit the 14mn b/d mark for the first time last week, but the pace at which operators added the most recent 1mn b/d was slower than in the past.

Crude output nationwide averaged 14mn b/d in the week ended 30 October, up from 13.99mn b/d in the week prior for a new record, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Wednesday.

Production first topped the 13mn b/d mark in the week ended 10 January 2020, just a little less than a year since it first rose above 12mn b/d in February 2019. But it took near nearly seven more years to achieve the latest 1mn b/d increase, slowed by the Covid-19 pandemic-induced drop in oil prices, which prompted operators to rapidly cut production from a then-peak of 13.1mn b/d to 9.7mn b/d by January 2021.

The pace from 10mn b/d to 13mn b/d was much quicker. It took just 161 weeks from US oil output to rise from 10mn b/d to 11mn b/d in 2018 and 217 days — from 13 July 2018 to 15 February 2019 — to top the 12mn b/d mark.

Crude prices this year have averaged $85/bl year-to-date, more than double the $39/bl average in 2020 on account of the US-Iran war. But producers have been hesitant to increase output too quickly because it is unclear how long the conflict may last.

By Brett Holmes