Forecasters project a large increase in U.S. oil production over 2019. The size of this increase ranges from four hundred and twenty thousand barrels per day (Citibank) to 1.7 million barrels per day (OPEC). The most recent forecast, issued January 18 by the IEA, sees an increase of almost eight hundred thousand barrels per day. ( Figure 1 presents the production history and forecast from the EIA’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook.) Figure 1 (Click to enlarge) The output increase is primarily associated with the rise in production in the key onshore provinces where fracking occurs: Anadarko, Bakken, Eagle Ford, Niobrara, and Permian. The optimism expressed in these forecasts is understandable when considering just how spectacular the production surge from these areas has been. This continued expansion and the realization of these optimistic forecasts, however, could be threatened by the collapse of fracking’s silent companions: oil future buyers. Reuters reported […]