U.S. oil production expected to reach fastest rate ever in 2014

Driven by the shale boom, the United States in 2014 will hit its highest daily oil production level since 1988 and will grow oil output at the highest rate ever, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted Tuesday. As The Houston Chronicle reports, U.S. daily oil production—which averaged 6.4 million barrels a day in 2012—will surge 23% to average 7.9 million barrels a day in 2014, according to administration projections. The daily production rate will jump 900,000 barrels between 2012 and 2013, a record for growth in a single year, EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski announced during a conference call with reporters. The previous record of 800,000 barrels per day was set a year ago and was the largest one-year jump since 1951. Oil was first produced in the United States in 1859. “That is the largest single-year growth in U.S. production all the way back to the drake oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania, in 1859,” Sieminski says. “That is pretty impressive.” While the administration is confident in its predictions, Sieminski says any regulatory changes that affect production of oil and gas from shale could change the outlook. The full story can be found here.