Crude oil production in the Permian shale play reached a record-high last month, averaging 4.92 million bpd, the Energy Information Administration reported in the latest edition of its Drilling Productivity Report. But the top shale play in the United States is seen boosting output even higher, to 4.996 million bpd this month and 5.076 million bpd in February, the EIA also said. Bloomberg noted in a report on the news that this makes the Permian alone a bigger producer than any OPEC members except Saudi Arabia. Production in other shale plays across the U.S. is not performing as well as the Permian, but that’s hardly a surprise given the devastation the industry suffered in 2020. Yet it also rose, to a total shale output of 8.34 million bpd for December. The total shale output of the U.S. is seen rising to 8.44 million barrels daily this month and further […]