US crude oil prod. in May posts record monthly decline

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The US' crude oil production in May posted a record decrease on a monthly basis, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a statement on Tuesday.

Crude oil production in May 2020 decreased by 1.99 million barrels per day (bpd), which marked the largest monthly decline since January 1980, the administration said.

The fall in crude output also surpassed the previous record decline that was recorded in September 2008 when Hurricanes Gustav and Ike caused the US' crude production to fall by 1.03 million bpd.

"May [2020] marks the sixth consecutive monthly decrease in crude oil production and is the third month since the March 2020 declaration of a national emergency concerning the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak," the EIA said in the statement.

"May crude oil production decreased by 16.6% as the economic impact of COVID-19 mitigation efforts led to a drop in demand. Reduced economic activity related to COVID-19 mitigation efforts has caused changes in energy supply and demand patterns," it added.

In May, the US state of Texas, which produces the highest amount of crude oil in the country, saw the largest decline in crude production by falling 764,000 bpd, or 14.8%, from the previous month.

North Dakota saw the second-largest decrease in crude output, which fell by 353,000 bpd, or 29.1%, from the previous month, according to the EIA.

The states of Texas, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Wyoming all had record monthly crude oil production declines in the month of May, the EIA noted.

The administration said it expects US crude oil production to rise in July 2020 as demand and oil prices pick up to average 11.6 million bpd for this year.

Before COVID-19 and the economic downturn, the US' crude oil production averaged 12.8 million bpd in the first two months of 2020.