U.S. Feb shale output expected to rise to 6.55 MMbpd
NEW YORK(Reuters) - U.S. oil output is expected to continue to rise in February with production from shale rising by 111,000 bpd to 6.55 MMbpd, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday.
The global oil market has been closely watching U.S. output, which may continue to contribute to global oversupply even as OPEC members, Russia and other producers curb production. The agency previously said that U.S. output could reach 10 MMbpd in February and surge to 11 MMbpd in 2019.
The agency expects oil production from new wells to grow in each of seven major regions. The Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico accounts for the bulk of the production increase year-on-year, the data showed. At the same time, production growth in the Bakken formation of North Dakota is seen slower than a year earlier.
Eagle Ford oil output is expected to rise by 15,000 bpd to 1.27 million bpd, while Bakken output is set to rise by 8,500 bpd to 1.22 million bpd, the agency said in a monthly report.
Permian production is forecast to rise by 76,000 bpd to 2.87 MMbpd. The number of drilled uncompleted wells in the Permian is at a record 2,777, and the national number rose to a record 7,493 drilled uncompleted wells.
Meanwhile, U.S. natural gas production was projected to increase to a record 64.1 bcfd in February. That would be up almost 0.9 bcfd from the January forecast and would be the 11th monthly increase in a row.
The EIA projected gas output would increase in all of the big shale basins in February, except the Anadarko region in Oklahoma and North Texas, which is expected to decline for the first time in 13 months.
Output in the Appalachia region, the biggest shale gas play, was set to rise by almost 0.4 bcfd to a record high of 26.8 bcfd in February, an 11th consecutive increase. Production in Appalachia was 23.2 bcfd in the same month a year ago.
EIA said producers drilled 1,247 wells and completed 1,091 in the biggest shale basins in December, leaving total drilled but uncompleted wells up 156 at a record high 7,493, according to data going back to December 2013.
(Reporting by Jessica Resnick-Ault and Scott DiSavino; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Leslie Adler)
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