The Permian Basin Is Out-Producing Saudi Arabia's Ghawar Field – OilPrice.com

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The tight oil and shale gas regions continue to be the primary driver of rising U.S. oil and gas production. The Permian Basin has reached an all-time high of 5.8 million bpd, out-producing even Saudi Arabia’s massive Ghawar oilfield. However, production gains in the Permian have slowed in recent months, with new wells just offsetting the production decline in legacy wells.
According to the Baker Hughes rig count, the number of wells drilling for oil in the U.S. has declined by 5% since last year. However, the inventory of wells that were previously drilled but uncompleted (DUC) also continues to decline. Over the past year, the DUC inventory has decreased by 8%, but it’s down a whopping 45% over the past three years. For perspective, the DUC inventory is now at its lowest level in about a decade.
This means that production increases are primarily being driven by finishing previously drilled wells. Production may be able to increase a bit more as the DUC inventory continues to decline, but the rig count will likely have to increase soon for oil production to increase much from current levels. Related: Saudi Arabia Deepens Energy Ties With China

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) remains a concern, as the current inventory is at the lowest level since 1983. Over the past year, the level of the SPR has been depleted by 31% in an effort to combat rising oil prices. That arguably helped stem the rise in oil prices last year, but it removed a substantial cushion the U.S. had in case of a real emergency.
Of course, much of this activity is being driven by price. Oil prices have declined from $120 a barrel (bbl) at this time last year to just under $70/bbl today. In turn, average retail gasoline prices have declined from $5.11 a gallon a year ago to $3.71 a gallon at present. Gasoline prices have returned to about the level they were at prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.