Texas oil production holding steady

AUSTIN, Texas, June 26 (UPI) -- Texas oil production in April was up more than 10 percent year-on-year, but relatively unchanged from the previous month, the state's energy regulator said.

The Railroad Commission of Texas, the state's energy regulator, reported April crude oil production averaged 2.31 million barrels per day, up from the 2.04 million bpd produced in April 2014. April 2015 production in Texas came from 164,316 oil wells.

Data reported in March show crude oil production averaged 2.31 million bpd, down from the 2.34 million bpd reported in February.

The data comes as crude oil prices are starting to level off after a late 2014 plummet below the $100 per barrel mark. Crude oil traded below the $50 per barrel mark in early 2015, but prices have since recovered about 25 percent.

Lower oil prices means less capital investments for exploration and production, reflected in lower rig counts in the Lower 48. Rig data paints a mixed picture, however. Texas, the No. 1 oil producer, recorded no change in weekly rig counts in the latest report from oil services company Baker Hughes.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a June drilling report oil production from some of the more lucrative shale basins in the United States is expected to drop by a combined 92,000 barrels per day by July. The Eagle Ford shale play in Texas is expected to show the largest drop in terms of volume.

The so-called Beige Book from the Dallas Federal Reserve in early June said demand for oil field services, as well as the number of rigs actively exploring for or producing oil and natural gas, were on the decline, with losses concentrated in the Permian shale basin.

The Dallas bank's report said lessons learned from past slumps in oil prices found challenges were more apparent in the longevity of the bear market than from the actual discount.