US oil production declines in January and breaks monthly record in December

Oil production in the United States declined in January, but new data from the Department of Energy show that the country's output was well above that originally announced at the end of last year.

The most recent weekly figures show that US production remains steady around 12.1 million bpd – an unprecedented record if confirmed by the EIA's monthly readings.

Choke bottlenecks in the largest oil shale deposit, the Permian Basin, are expected to dampen growth in the first half of the year. There are not enough pipelines and other infrastructure in western Texas and southeastern New Mexico to cope with soaring crude oil from Permian fields.

Texas production fell 1.3% in January to 4.832 million b / d, EIA data shows. New Mexico production remained broadly stable at 815,000 b / d.

Compared with January 2018, production increased 24% in Texas and 50% in New Mexico.