United States crude oil production grew faster in 2014 than it had since record-keeping began in 1990, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported late last month.
The increase of 1.2 million barrels per day, to a total of 8.7 mbbl/d, was “the largest volume increase since recordkeeping began in 1900,” and the biggest percentage increase since 1940. “Most of the increase during 2014 came from tight oil plays in North Dakota, Texas, and New Mexico, where hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling were used to produce oil from shale formations,” EIA notes.
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The agency projects more modest supply growth in 2015 and 2016, noting that low oil prices have “slowed production in marginal drilling areas and focused investment in the more developed areas of tight oil plays.”
