US crude output falls 90,000 bpd to 11.87mn bpd in Jan

NEW YORK: US crude production edged lower in January to 11.87 million barrels per day, from a revised 11.96 million bpd in December, the US Energy Information Administration said in a monthly report on Friday.

Production in Texas fell by 64,000 bpd in the month and in North Dakota output rose by 9,000 bpd. Meanwhile, production in the federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico was largely unchanged, according to the report.

The decline in Texas, home to the Permian basin, the biggest oilpatch in the United States, was the first in about a year, the data showed.

A surge in shale production has vaulted the United States to the position of world's biggest producer, but an unexpected crash in oil prices in the fourth quarter forced some producers to pull back on spending and drilling plans for 2019.

Independent producers are slowing exploration and cutting staff and budgets amid investor pressure to control spending and boost returns.

For example, Pioneer Natural Resources recently dropped a pledge to hit 1 million bpd by 2026 amid pressure from investors to boost returns. It shifted its emphasis to generating cash flow and replaced its chief executive after posting fourth quarter profit that missed Wall Street earnings targets by 36 cents a share.

Meanwhile, gross natural gas production in the Lower 48 US states fell for the first time in a year, sliding to 98.12 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in January from a record high 98.29 bcfd in December, according to the EIA's 914 production report.

The last time gas output in the Lower 48 declined was in January 2018 when production fell by 1.56 bcfd.

In Texas, the nation's largest gas producer, output eased by 0.1 percent to 25.86 bcfd in January from a record high 25.89 bcfd in December. That compares with 22.03 bcfd in January 2018.

In Pennsylvania, the second-biggest gas-producing state, production rose to a record high 18.56 bcfd in January, up 2.1 percent from 18.18 bcfd in December. That compares with output of 16.14 bcfd in January 2018.