WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th May, 2020) US crude production has hit 15-month lows, falling below 12 million barrels per day for the first time since February 2019, Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed Wednesday.
US oil drillers have cut back on output after a collapse in demand forced by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Crude production was seen at 11.9 million barrels daily for the week ending May 1, down 200,000 barrels from the previous week ended April 2, the EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status report showed. The last time US crude output was at below 12 million barrels daily was during the week ended February 15.
The latest number was also 1.2 million barrels, or 9 percent, lower from the record high production of 13.1 million barrels per day seen in mid-March.
Most non-essential businesses across America's 50 states were shuttered for six weeks since mid-March, only reopening last week, in an attempt to control the spread of the coronavirus, which has infected more than 1.2 million people and killed another 71,000 plus in the country.
The drop in US crude production has, however, lagged the sheer plunge in actively-operating oil rigs in the country, which are down 51 percent over the past six weeks. The tumbling rig count indicates that the EIA will report sharper output declines in coming weeks.
The Paris-based Internal Energy Agency estimates that the COVID-19 has wiped out between 20 million and 30 million barrels per day from a typical global oil demand of 100,000 barrels per day. Leading Wall Street forecasters on energy, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, said this week the road to oil demand recovery will be long and painful.
The cratering demand for oil has caused prices of US crude to fall by 61 percent this year to below $24 per barrel, Brent, the global benchmark for crude, has, meanwhile, slumped 56 percent to below $30 per barrel.
