Oil production from the United States’ biggest shale plays is poised to keep expanding at the same breakneck pace into early next year, according to new U.S. projections released on Monday that highlighted a slow response to tumbling prices. Oil production from the three main plays – the Bakken, Eagle Ford and Permian Basin – is set to rise by some 103,000 barrels per day (bpd) in January from December, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. That’s just a hair below December’s 105,000 bpd rise, and a faster rate than most months this year. Well productivity continues to grow, as drillers get better at squeezing more barrels of crude out of each well – and out of each dollar. Each new Bakken well is set to produce some 550 barrels a day in January, up from under 500 bpd as recently as June, the data […]