US Oil Production Nears Previous Peak

The EIA’s Monthly Energy Review came out a couple of days ago. The data is in thousand barrels per day and the last data point is July 2015.

US consumption of total liquids, or as the EIA calls it, petroleum products supplied, reached 20,000,000 barrels per day for the first time since February of 2008.

Related: OPEC Divorce And Self-Destruction Thanks To Saudi Oil Strategy?

Something I never noticed before, consumption started to drop in January 2008, seven months before the price, along with world production, started to drop in August 2008. This had to be a price driven decline. Could the current June and July increase in consumption be price driven also?

US Production was down 96,000 barrels per day in July to 9,503,000 bpd. That is 190,000 bpd below the March level of 9,693,000 bpd.

Related: We Could See An Economic Collapse As Debt Defaults Pile Up

Here is what the last 50 years of US production looks like. The peak was in 1970 or 1971, depending on what you call the peak.

Related: Eni Announces Supergiant Gas Discovery Off Egyptian Coast

In March 2015 we were still 351,000 barrels per day below the peak month of 10,044,000 bpd in November of 1970. But right now we are headed in the wrong way to break that record. In July we were 541,000 bpd from that record. Right now the 2015 average, January through July, is 9,534,000 bpd. That is 103,000 barrels per day below the 1970 average. But the 2015 average is likely to get smaller as the year plays out.

By Ron Patterson

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

• Could Oil Sink Below $40 Per Barrel Again?
• Why So Much Oil Price Volatility? Blame The Speculators
• Canada’s Oilfield Service Sector Battered By Low Prices