Output in the Permian basin is already starting to slowdown, largely due to pipeline constraints. However, there is also a series of other data points that suggests that shale drillers are bumping up against a ceiling in terms of productivity and efficiency. New data from the EIA shows a rather startling slowdown in the amount of oil that the average rig can produce from a new well in the Permian. In September, the EIA expects new-well production per rig to fall by 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the Permian, compared to August levels. That means that when a company deploys a rig to drill a new well, that rig will produce a little less oil than it did compared to the average rig did a month earlier. (Click to enlarge) New-well productivity has seesawed a bit over the years, spiking in 2016 when the industry scrapped inefficient rigs […]