WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Oil production from six key fields in the United States is expected to increase 1.6 percent from October to November, the Energy Department said.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration, the analytical arm of the Energy Department, rolled out its inaugural drilling productivity report. It assesses information taken from the Bakken, Eagle Ford, Haynesville, Marcellus, Niobrara and Permian shale reserve areas in the United States.
Five of the shale areas are in the central and southern U.S. states. The Marcellus shale area is spread out over much of West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York.
EIA said in its 10-page productivity report that, combined, those shale reserves produced 3.6 million barrels of oil per day in October. By November, that should increase to 3.7 million bpd.
The EIA said total U.S. oil production as of August was 7.6 million bpd, the highest monthly rate since 1989.
For natural gas, the EIA said Tuesday the six shale reserve areas produced 33.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. That should increase to 34.1 billion cubic feet per day by November.
"These six regions accounted for nearly 90 percent of domestic oil production growth and virtually all domestic natural gas production growth during 2011-12," the administration said.
