US shale oil production is expected to see a net gain of just 1,000 b/d in April, according to the US Energy Information Administration’s latest Drilling Productivity Report published Monday. The data shows net production from the Bakken, Eagle Ford and Niobrara shale plays all falling in April — the first time they will have contracted since the EIA started publishing the DPR in November 2013. Only the Permian region will show a significant projected net gain in April, at 21,000 b/d, compared with the February report’s projection for March growth of 30,000 b/d. The DPR uses recent data on the total number of drilling rigs in operation, along with estimates of drilling productivity and estimated changes in production from existing oil and natural gas wells. The projection is based on seven key shale plays — the Bakken, Eagle Ford, Haynesville, Marcellus, Niobrara, Permian […]