US oil production jumped to a fresh monthly record of 13.4 million barrels a day in August, in what is likely to make OPEC’s decision on whether to return supplies to the market more complicated.
Much of the growth came from all-time high output in Texas of 5.8 million barrels a day and a fresh record of 2.1 million barrels a day from New Mexico, which together make up the prolific Permian shale basin, latest monthly data from US Energy Information Administration showed on Thursday.
Production in the US has consistently climbed this year, though not at the blistering pace seen previously as shale producers vow to prioritize shareholder returns over growing output. Still, the trajectory of growth from the biggest producer in the world has significant effects on a market that is widely expected to be oversupplied next year.
The uptick in output comes as imports from OPEC’s largest producer Saudi Arabia fell to 235,000 barrels a day, the lowest since January 2021, when pandemic-related lockdowns triggered a slump in fuel consumption. Saudi Aramco’s Motiva Enterprises LLC unit, remains the biggest buyer of Saudi oil for its Texas refinery in Port Arthur, one of the largest in the country.
OPEC and allies are mulling whether to return supplies to the market December after halting them since 2022 but prices have already weakened amid a fragile economic outlook and fading geopolitical risk premium.
