U.S. oil output fell 2% in Jan to lowest since Sept -EIA

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A view of Marathon Petroleum's refinery in Anacortes
A general view shows Marathon Petroleum's oil refinery, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Anacortes, Washington, U.S., March 9, 2022. REUTERS/David Ryder

NEW YORK, March 31 (Reuters) - U.S. oil production fell in January by 2% to the lowest since September 2021, according to a monthly report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Thursday.

Oil production fell to 11.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in January from 11.6 million barrels per day the month prior, the report showed.

Production in Texas fell to 4.9 million bpd, lowest since August 2021, while output in New Mexico fell to 1.3 million bpd, lowest since July 2021.

Oil prices have spiked around 40% since the start of the year, and trading has been volatile since Russia invaded Ukraine last month. However, shale producers have responded more slowly than during previous price rises, as investors and shareholders have demanded greater capital discipline from the industry than in previous boom-bust cycles.

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration on Thursday announced a plan to release 1 million barrels of oil a day from the strategic petroleum reserve over the next six months, the White House said in a statement. read more

Demand for U.S. crude and petroleum products fell in January to 19.7 million bpd, the lowest since April 2021, the monthly report showed. Demand for finished motor gasoline fell to about 8 million bpd, lowest since February 2021, the report said.

Monthly gross natural gas production in the U.S. Lower 48 states dropped 2.9 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) to 105.5 bcfd in January, its lowest since September 2021, the EIA said in its monthly 914 production report.

That was the biggest monthly decline since gas supplies dropped by a record 8.4 bcfd during the February freeze of 2021.

The previous all-time high was 108.4 bcfd in December.

In top gas producing states, monthly output fell 2.0% in Texas to 29.7 bcfd and 3.1% in Pennsylvania to 21.3 bcfd.

Reporting by Stephanie Kelly and Scott DiSavino; Editing by David Gregorio

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Thomson Reuters

A New-York-based correspondent covering the U.S. crude market and member of the energy team since 2018 covering the oil and fuel markets as well as federal policy around renewable fuels.

Thomson Reuters

Covers the North American power and natural gas markets.

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