The Energy Information Administration (EIA) has predicted that the U.S. will see domestic oil production rise by 9% this year to reach 13.3 million barrels per day (bpd). Output will then grow at a lower rate in 2021, rising by 3% to 13.7 million bpd, the agency said in the January 2020 update of its Short-Term Energy Outlook.
The EIA said that production growth was likely to slow down in 2020 because the number of drilling rigs operating in the U.S. dropped last year. It stressed, though, that output would continue to climb this year as a result of gains in well-level productivity and rig efficiency.
These gains are likely to have more impact in the second half of 2020, the EIA added. Output will probably not grow significantly before mid-year because WTI prices are set to remain weak in the first half, it explained.