New data shows the surge in shale drilling hasn’t lifted U.S. oil production as much as expected. FuelFix.com reports a monthly Energy Department report released on Monday shows the nation’s daily output rose 0.6% to 9.17 million barrels in May, well below its original forecast of 9.32 million for that month.
Texas outpaced the rest of the country, boosting output by 2.3%, or 78,000 barrels a day, as the oil fields in the Permian Basin surged. In Alaska, Louisiana, Oklahoma, North Dakota and Wyoming, oil production collectively dropped nearly 45,000 barrels a day in May. In New Mexico, parts of which share the Permian, production rose by 14,000 barrels a day. Colorado put out an extra 10,000 barrels a day.
But other oil-rich states stalled out. It’s another sign the oil industry’s uneven recovery has left several U.S. oil fields behind as drillers focus on the prolific Permian.
