The US Energy Information Administration in its monthly productivity forecast said US crude oil production from its seven major shale formations would likely drop to a two year low of 7.49 million bpd in August, down 56,000 bpd from July’s estimated output.
The Eagle Ford in Texas is expected to see the steepest decline next month, with output expected to fall by 23,000 bpd to 1.1 million bpd, the lowest since August 2017. Oil production in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico is forecast to decline by roughly 13,000 bpd to 4.15 million bpd, the lowest since March 2019.
On the other hand, crude production from the Bakken in North Dakota and Montana is expected to increase by 18,000 bpd from July to 1.113 million bpd in August. Production from this area suffered the most decline than many other shale formations when oil prices collapsed due to the coronavirus pandemic earlier this year.
Separately, EIA forecast US natural gas production to decrease for a fifth consecutive month to 79.6 bcfd in August, falling by nearly 0.7 bcfd from July’s estimated output. The Appalachian region, the biggest US shale gas formation, is expected to produce 32.7 bcfd of gas next month, falling about 0.2 bcfd from July
