Oil output in America’s most prolific shale patch is getting closer to levels seen before the pandemic-driven market crash, as crude prices surge. Oil output in America’s most prolific shale patch is getting closer to levels seen before the pandemic-driven market crash, as crude prices surge. While total production in the U.S. is still lagging, the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico is increasing output to an average of 4.826 million barrels a day in October, according to a U.S. government report Monday. That’s close to a revised 4.913 million barrel-a-day record set in March 2020, just before the pandemic unleashed widespread demand destruction globally, triggering production shutdowns and bankruptcies across the country. Production has been rising with benchmark U.S. crude prices now at seven-year highs, underpinned by a severe supply deficit. Oil futures in New York surpassed $80 a barrel this month for the first time […]