Crude production was projected at 9.7 million bpd at the end of the week to February 18, versus an estimated 10.8 million bpd during the week to February 11, the EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report showed.
US crude production hit record highs of 13.1 million bpd in March 2020, just before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. It has fallen since, stabilizing at between 10.5 million and 11.0 million bpd.
The latest slide of 1.1 million bpd comes after the snowstorms that descended upon the central and eastern United States in recent weeks. However, last week’s storm in Texas was so unexpectedly severe that oil and gas could not flow properly in key production basins.
While oil production has resumed in recent days, many Texan refiners are still struggling to get back to optimal levels of output. The weekly EIA data showed the national oil refining rate at just 68.6 percent of capacity on February 18, versus the 83.1 percent level seen on February 11. The collapse of almost 15 percent in refining appears almost entirely due to the situation in Texas.