US shale production to rise to highest in April

US shale crude oil production in the seven biggest shale basins is expected to rise in April to its highest since December 2019, the Energy Information Administration said on Monday.

Shale production is expected to rise by 68,000 barrels per day - the slimmest rise since December 2022 - to 9.21 million bpd, the EIA data showed.

Crude output in the Permian basin in Texas and New Mexico, the biggest US shale oil basin, is expected to rise to 5.62 million bpd. Though that would be a record high, oil output from the region is expected to gain by 26,000 bpd from the previous month, also the smallest increase since last December, the data showed.

In the Bakken region of North Dakota and Montana, output is due to rise 18,000 bpd to 1.16 million bpd, the highest since March 2022.

Crude oil production in the South Texas Eagle Ford region is due to gain by 9,000 bpd to 1.13 million bpd, highest since April 2020.

Total natural gas output in the big shale basins will increase by about 0.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) to a record 96.6 bcfd in April, EIA projected.

In the biggest shale gas basin, Appalachia in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, output will rise to 35.0 bcfd in April, the highest since November 2022.

That compares with a monthly gas output record in Appalachia of 36.0 bcfd in December 2021.

Gas output in the Permian and the Haynesville in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas will rise to record highs of 22.5 bcfd and 16.8 bcfd in April, respectively.

Gas output in Appalachia was expected to increase even though drillers there have been getting less gas out of each new well for 25 months in a row.

EIA said it expected new Appalachia gas well production per rig to drop to 24.2 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) in April, the lowest since June 2020.

New gas well production per rig in Appalachia hit a record of 33.3 mmcfd in March 2021.