(Bloomberg) -- US oil production will grow by 600,000 barrels a day in 2025, about 50% more than this year, due to higher well productivity, according to BloombergNEF.
Shale producers are pumping more oil per dollar invested in oil fields by drilling wells with fewer rigs and using better fracking techniques, BloombergNEF said in a report published Thursday. The US will increase production 4.5% to a record 13.9 million barrels a day next year.
BNEF’s forecast is more bullish than the 13.7 million barrels a day estimated by the US Energy Information Administration.
“Efficiency gains, process improvements and adapting best field practices have allowed oil companies to reduce capital spending while avoiding a decline in well completions,” BNEF analyst Tai Liu said in the report.
Higher US shale production comes as oil prices have dropped 17% from this year’s high in April due to lower-than-expected demand, especially from China. It’s another headache for OPEC and its allies who are considering bringing 500,000 barrels a day of curtailed supply back to the market in the fourth quarter.
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