14 Jul U.S. Oil Producers On Track to Reach an Incredible 45-Year High

For U.S. oil producers, 2015 is well on its way to becoming the most productive year for crude oil output in 45 years.

On Tuesday, July 7, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its forecast for the rest of the year’s oil output, which states that production will hover around 9.5 million barrels per day through the end of the year. During the first half of 2015, producers averaged 9.6 million barrels a day.

If the EIA’s forecast is accurate, this year will be the most productive year since 1970 — which, with 9.6 million barrels a day, was the U.S. oil industry’s most productive year ever. Last year, producers averaged about 8.7 million barrels of oil per day.

Record road travel will help spur demand for oil, with gasoline demand expected to hit 9 million barrels daily for the first time since 2007, The Hill reported.

“Low gasoline prices and higher employment will contribute to more driving this year, boosting U.S. gasoline consumption an estimated 170,000 barrels per day higher than in 2014,” EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski explained in a statement that accompanied the report.

By early 2016, however, the EIA predicts that levels of oil production will begin to slowly decline to adjust to fluctuations in crude oil prices and changes in market demand.

Luckily, the nation’s oil producers won’t see their drilling equipment go out of use for quite some time. Experts estimate there are at least 53.3 years’ worth of oil reserves on hand to meet global production needs, with global proved oil reserves rising by 27% over the last decade alone.

Knowing this, it’s clear there’s plenty of good news for the U.S. oil and gas industry — which supports 9.8 million jobs nationwide — to be celebrating all year long.

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