U.S. crude oil production exceeded imports in October for the first month since February 1995, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. Output averaged 7.74 million barrels a day, the Energy Department’s statistical unit said in its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook . Crude oil net imports were 7.57 million, down from 7.92 million the previous month. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, have unlocked supplies in shale formations in North Dakota , Texas and other states. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. crude benchmark, has dropped to below $95 from above $110 in September as domestic output reached a 24-year high. “It’s something we’ve been forecasting since earlier this year,” said Tancred Lidderdale , an economist with the EIA in Washington who helped write the report. “Crude-oil production from shale-oil has been steadily growing over the last few years and it’s expected to continue to grow.” For the year, production […]