US tops 11.3 million barrels per day for a record high in August, becoming the ‘World’s largest oil producer’
Monthly U.S. oil production hit a record high in August, making the nation the world’s largest oil producer.
New numbers from the federal Energy Information Administration show monthly production reached 11.3 million barrels per day in August, the first time the rate for U.S. crude has surpassed 11 million barrels per day.
Texas led the surge, and the state hit a record monthly high of its own at 4.6 million barrels per day.
Houston’s Stratas Advisors analyst Stephen Beck says companies are still battling labor shortages and pipeline capacity to move their product. He says staying competitive, particularly in the Permian Basin of West Texas, continues to be a careful balancing act.
“As soon as somebody misses a step, they don’t have a rig at the right place, or they don’t have enough proppant, the inefficiencies in the operation start to show up,” Beck says. “And then that’s when you start having uneconomic results.”
Russia’s energy ministry estimates that country pumped 11.2 million barrels a day in August. OPEC reports Saudi Arabia pumped 10.4 million barrels a day.
Texas accounts for about 40 percent of U.S. crude. The energy agency says pipeline bottlenecks in Texas and New Mexico are causing more use of trucks and rail cars to haul oil.