U.S. shale production is slated to increase by 124,000 barrels per day in May, according to new data from the Energy Information Administration released on Monday.
The Permian basin will be the largest contributor to production increase. The play, shared by both Texas and New Mexico, is expected see a 76,000-barrel rise in output by the end of next month.
Eagle Ford will see a 39,000-barrel jump in crude production, while the Niobrara is expected to see an output increase of 8,000 barrels.
The number of drilled but uncompleted wells (DUCs) rose by 111 from February to March, the EIA figures show.
Increases in barrel prices due to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) recent production cut deal have allowed for shale output from basins in the American south to skyrocket in the past few months.
OPEC is currently considering an extension of its 1.2 million-barrel-per-day reduction agreement, but prominent members of the bloc have expressed concern that American producers' unbridled shale output will derail any market recalibration effort.
At an energy conference in Houston in March, Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih emphasized that there would be no "free rides" for shale producers from North Dakota and Texas who have benefitted from the new $55 Brent barrel and brought new rigs online as a result.
Related: Reeling From Low Oil Prices, Saudis Look To Freeze Megaprojects
OPEC will meet again at its headquarters in Vienna on May 25th, where the group is expected to decide whether or not to extend the six-month period of its output curbs, depending on the state of global oil markets. A majority of the group's nations have said that they would want the 11 NOPEC nations that promised 600,000 barrels per day in cuts the first time around to be a part of the extension deal.
By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com
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Zainab Calcuttawala is an American journalist based in Morocco. She completed her undergraduate coursework at the University of Texas at Austin (Hook’em) and reports on… More