US tight oil to triple by 2020, Wood Mackenzie says

US tight oil production is on the rise and will approach 4.1 million barrels per day (b/d) by 2020, with as yet unseen implications for global and domestic markets, energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie says

Big production increases in North Dakota’s Bakken and Texas’ Eagle Ford shale plays have “been nothing short of phenomenal”, according to the UK consultancy, who believe the two plays will produce 1.3 million barrels per day (b/d) each by the end of the decade. North Dakota’s oil production was 660,000 b/d in June, and is on track to break 750,000 b/d by the end of the year, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Texas’ oil production, meanwhile, is up almost 30% since 2006, to about 1.5 million b/d. Although Eagle Ford shale has garnered the most headlines, but the Permian Basin – a mature field once believed to be all but pumped dry – is also making big gains. Since 2008