Will U.S. crude oil production reach 11 million barrels per day in 2018? Will it continue to increase or reverse a course in 2018? I asked myself these questions back in January early this year. Back then, U.S. crude oil production was around 9.492 million barrels per day.
A month later, I published a series of Oil Market Outlooks in February, 2018. In one of them, I provided answers to these questions. And my answers were a big YES. Yes, U.S. crude oil production will continue to increase in 2018, and it will reach 11 million barrels per day.
 Now, after only few months, U.S. crude oil production has finally reached 11 million barrels per day as I predicted in February early this year. According to the latest report by the Energy Information Administration, the United States is now producing approximately 11 million barrels of crude oil per day.
When I made my forecast back in February early this year, I received many comments from different people in the oil and gas industry whom didn’t really expect that to happen. They didn’t see it coming. But it did. Now that U.S. crude oil production crossed the 11 million barrels per day level, what is next for U.S. crude oil production? Will it continue to increase? Will U.S. become the world largest oil producer in 2018?
What is next for U.S. crude oil production in 2018? Here is what to expect:
U.S. to become the world largest crude oil producer by end of 2018
U.S. crude oil production to continue to increase in the second half of 2018
U.S. crude oil production is expected to reach to 11.8 million barrels per day by the end of 2018
While there is an abundance of current and potential supply from the United States, one of the biggest problems that could limit U.S. crude oil production growth from reaching its full potential in the second half of this year and into 2019 would be the infrastructure constraints.
