31 December 2012, Newswire – Oil production in the United States rose to 6.98 million barrels per day last week, hitting its highest level since March 1993, data from the US Energy Information Administration showed.
The data also revealed a significant build in US Midwest crude oil stocks, which jumped by 2.11 million barrels last week on account of a 2.2-million-barrel build at the Cushing, Oklahoma storage hub, Reuters reported.
US oil output has rebounded from a historical decline thanks to the surge of unconventionals production from plays like the Bakken in North Dakota and Eagle Ford shale in Texas.
US oil inventories fell less than expected last week as imports declined, while stocks of refined fuels rose, data from the US Energy Information Administration showed on Friday.
Crude stocks fell by 586,000 barrels in the week to 21 December, EIA data showed. That was smaller than the average forecast of a 1.9-million-barrel decline in a Reuters poll of analysts.
US oil imports dropped by 374,000 barrels per day to 7.98 million bpd.
US oil futures turned lower following the EIA data, which also showed gasoline demand down 2.8% and distillate consumption down 6.9% from year-earlier levels on a four-week average basis.
Crude stocks often drop near the end of the year as oil companies draw down inventories for tax purposes.
At the futures delivery hub of Cushing, Oklahoma, crude stocks rose by 2.21 million barrels last week.
US crude was trading down 26 cents a barrel at $90.61 by 11:40 am eastern time.
It had been up by around 30 cents a barrel before the data.
