US oil production on track to eclipse previous record, government says

US oil production on track to eclipse previous record, government says

US oil production is on course to break pre-pandemic records next year, a government agency has forecast, complicating the Biden administration’s ambitions to shift the country away from fossil fuels.

Output is likely to rise to a fresh annual high of 12.4m barrels a day in 2023, the Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday, eclipsing the previous record volume of 12.3m b/d set in 2019. US natural gas production will also set new records over the next two years, the independent statistics agency said.

It marks a stark reversal for an oil and gas industry that was sent into freefall by the pandemic-driven economic downturn, and defies widespread predictions that the country’s oil industry would not recapture peak production levels.

The forecast comes as higher energy prices spark new investment in developing oil and gasfields. The EIA expected Brent crude oil prices to average $75 a barrel this year and $68 a barrel next year — lower than spot prices, which suggests production could climb even in a weaker commodity market.

While the Biden administration has promised a long-term shift away from fossil fuels, it has recently leaned on the domestic oil sector to lift output to help cool a rally in motor fuel,