US shale oil producers reduce drilling
World World: Some small shale producers in the US are putting the brakes on oil drilling as crude prices have hit multi-year lows and heavy tariffs are pushing up construction costs. Less drilling could slow future oil production growth, hurting output at the world’s biggest oil producer.
US production is forecast to reach 13.7 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, of which 9.7 million bpd will come from shale. However, US and international energy agencies have lowered their forecast for US production growth in 2025. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has cut production growth forecast by 100,000 bpd to 300,000 bpd.
The plan to cut drilling has led shale producers to work on fewer projects. Also, steel tariffs imposed by the Trump administration have increased costs across the energy industry, which has also pushed up the cost of drilling. Given all this, oil production companies are expecting slow growth in the future.
