The precipitous one-year decline of 45% in the price of West Texas Intermediate crude has created the potential for cutbacks in domestic production. At around $47 per barrel, the current price of oil is approaching or already below the expected per-barrel costs of some of the most expensive U.S. tight oil projects.
However, the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) says there has not yet been any significant decline in permits issued, rig movements or spudding activity in North Dakota’s Bakken, the nation’s fastest-growing production region. Among the major producers exploration budgets are being cut, but it still pays to pump from wells that are already drilled. Bottom line: EIA expects U.S. crude oil production to average 9.3 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2015, up 0.7 million bbl/d from 2014 — an indication of just how strong America’s energy resurgence really is.