US oil output growth to slow as shale revolution fades
In March, the EIA trimmed its US crude production forecast, its first cut since September
New York — After Texas pushed the US over the past decade to become the world’s biggest oil producer last year, the heart of the shale revolution is starting to show fatigue. The volume of crude being pumped out of Texas recently saw its first monthly dip in a year. Oil well productivity in Texas’s Permian basin — the country’s largest oil field — is falling, and the number of drilling rigs operating in the US has declined for six straight weeks. Those indicators of future US oil production suggest that the massive surge in output over the past two years cannot continue unabated and, instead, will shift to a near-term plateau in supply. “For certain companies, production could start to flatline, even roll over” in the second half of the year, said James West, a senior MD for research analysts Evercore ISI. “I think you will see revisions to the overall growth forecasts ... for US production.” Evercore originally expected the land rig count to rise 6% in 2019; last week it revised it...
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