EIA sees US shale oil output falling to 8.5 million b/d in May as low prices take toll

US shale oil production will fall to 8.53 million b/d in May, down 183,000 b/d from April, with declines seen in every major basin, the Energy Information Administration said Monday.

The latest projections show that plunging oil prices and free-falling global demand have started taking a toll on US drilling activity.

EIA projected April shale oil production at 8.71 million b/d, a downward revision of 366,000 b/d from last month's Drilling Productivity Report.

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Permian oil production will fall to 4.51 million b/d in May, down 76,000 b/d from April, EIA said. The April figure is down 172,000 b/d from last month's forecast.

After the Permian, the next-largest decline will be in the Eagle Ford, dropping 35,000 b/d from April to 1.3 million b/d in May, EIA said.

Bakken oil production is expected to fall 28,000 b/d from April to 1.36 million b/d, EIA said.

EIA last week cut its US oil output forecast by 1.23 million b/d for 2020 and by 1.63 million b/d for 2021. It forecast overall production -- including shale, offshore Gulf of Mexico and Alaska -- to average 11.76 million b/d in 2020 and 11.03 million b/d in 2021.

US oil output averaged a record 12.23 million b/d in 2019.