Shale oil has pushed U.S. production to record highs as we start the new year. In fact, the U.S. has so much oil now; even Saudi Arabia is reportedly interested in investing in the Texas Permian Basin.
“We've already surpassed the crude oil production levels at the peak in 2015 in advance of the downturn which was brought about by this price collapse,” says petroleum economist Karr Ingham. “Frankly, we're well on the way to setting all-time production records in the U.S. and it doesn't look like that's going to change anytime soon.”
And the recently passed tax bill allows drilling in Alaska's arctic wildlife refuge.
“We're up around the $56-57 range in terms of posted price and popped $60 on the futures market late last week, these are the best prices we've seen since 2014 or 2015.”
Ingham says companies are scrambling to hire workers to keep pace.
“We've added at least 20,000, probably closer to 30,000 jobs over the past year and a couple of months, and the rig count is well over double its low-point also in 2015-16.”