EIA revises US oil production estimates lower; June output sank

HOUSTON – The federal government believes daily U.S. crude production fell to 9.3 million barrels in June, down by 100,000 barrels in the prior month, as low oil prices continue to discourage drilling.

The Energy Information Administration said Monday its monthly report on domestic oil supplies, slated to be released in full soon, will use a new approach to collecting production data. Instead of relying largely on state agencies to provide data, it has begun to survey oil companies that drill in 15 states including Texas and the Gulf of Mexico. It’s an effort to improve the accuracy of its monthly estimates of the nation’s oil output.

This has led it to revise its monthly production data for January through May downward by at least 40,000 barrels a day and up to 130,000 barrels a day, with the biggest declines coming from Texas. There was also an uptick in production from the Gulf of Mexico.

Texas’ daily oil production, the EIA said, were revised downward by 100,000 barrels to 150,000 for the first five months of the year. Producers in the Gulf put out 10,000 to 50,000 barrels a day more than the EIA had previously estimated from January to May. The overall average for the year came in at 9.4 million barrels a day. (by Collin Eaton. Fuel Fix)

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