US crude oil production breaks new record high

- Crude output reaches all-time high of 12.9 million barrels a day

Crude oil production in the U.S. reached a new record high of 12.9 million barrels per day (bpd) for the week ending Nov. 22, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday.

The world's biggest crude oil producer saw its output increase by 7,000 bpd in the state of Alaska and 100,000 bpd in other states excluding Hawaii, bringing total crude output in the country from approximately 12.8 million bpd to 12.9 million bpd.

The last time the U.S.' crude oil production reached a record high level was for the week ending Nov. 8 when output climbed to 12.8 million bpd, according to the EIA's data.

Crude oil production in the country is estimated to average 13.3 million bpd in 2020, according to the EIA's Short-Term Energy Outlook report for November.

Commercial crude oil inventories in the U.S. rose by 1.6 million barrels, or 0.3%, to 452 million barrels for the week ending Nov. 22, against the market expectation of a decline of 0.4 million barrels. Crude inventories increased by 1.4 million barrels during the previous week.

Strategic petroleum reserves, which are not included in the commercial crude stocks, decreased by 1.4 million barrels, or 0.2%, to 636.2 million barrels last week, according to the data.

Gasoline inventories, on the other hand, rose by 5.1 million barrels, or 2.3%, to 226 million barrels during that period. The market expectation was an increase of 1.2 million barrels. Gasoline inventories rose by 1.8 million barrels the week before.

By Ovunc Kutlu

Anadolu Agency

energy@aa.com.tr