US crude output slips 30,000 bpd to 10.44mn bpd in May

NEW YORK: US crude production fell 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 10.44 million bpd in May, as production declines in the Gulf of Mexico overshadowed gains in output from major shale basins.

Production increased in Texas, New Mexico, North Dakota and Ohio in the month, according to a production report from the Energy Information Administration. Production in North Dakota rose by 25,000 bpd, while Texas saw output climb 20,000 bpd in the month.

Offshore production in the Gulf of Mexico declined 75,000 bpd, or nearly 5 percent in the month, and was down more than 10 percent from a year earlier.

As a result, total U.S. crude output fell from a revised 10.47 million bpd in April, according to the report released on Tuesday.

Despite falling on a monthly basis, total U.S. oil production was up 13.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the report.

Demand for diesel fuel and other distillates, including jet and heating oil, rose 304,000 bpd or 7.7 percent from a year earlier to 4.3 million bpd in the month, the EIA said. Gasoline demand fell 40,000 bpd or 0.4 percent from a year earlier to 9.6 million bpd, the EIA said. As a result, total oil demand in May was up 318,000 bpd or 1.6 percent at 20.4 million bpd, the agency said.

U.S. gross natural gas production in the lower 48 states rose to a high of 89.9 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in May from the prior record of 89.2 bcfd in April, according to the EIA report.

Output in Texas, the nation's largest gas producer, increased 2.1 percent in May to 23.6 bcfd, the most since November 2015.

In Pennsylvania, the second biggest gas-producing state, production dipped to 16.1 bcfd in May, down 1.7 percent from April. That compares with a record high of 16.5 bcfd in February and output of 14.8 bcfd in May 2017.