In August, oil production in the United States rose to its highest level of output since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Oil output in August 2022 was at nearly 12 million barrels per day (bpd), the latest data from the EIA shows. This is up 6.2 percent from the 11.3 million bpd output in August 2021. It is also the highest level since March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began to spike. On a monthly basis, the August output was 0.9 percent higher than the previous month.
Among regions that produced more than 1 million bpd of oil, the Federal Offshore Gulf of Mexico area saw the highest output increase at 15.1 percent, followed closely by New Mexico with a 14.7 percent rise. Texas output rose by 4.8 percent while production in North Dakota declined by 3.5 percent.
U.S. oil production had peaked in November 2019 when output was at 13 million bpd. Since then, it has remained low due to the rising cost of labor and equipment, as well as rigs being shut down.
“You’ll see production tick higher, but I don’t think we’re going to go ripping higher to 13.1 million barrels,” Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York, told Reuters.
Despite America’s oil output having increased by 6.2 percent in the 12 months leading up to August 2022, gasoline prices have not fallen. Instead, retail prices rose from an average of $3.24 per gallon to $3.94 during this period, a rise of over 21…
