Permian output growth stutters

Sluggish production increases could trigger new wave of bankruptcies among operating minnows

The Permian shale patch is starting to display signs of moving into a production plateau phase, after years of rampant growth which upended the global oil market and transformed the US into a major energy supplier. Production will unquestionably still continue to climb in 2020—the EIA predicts US output will reach 13.3mn bl/d, up from 12.2mn bl/d in 2019—with incremental volumes primarily from the Texan shale patch. But, while overall Permian production may still be on the up, albeit at a far more gradual trajectory than previous years, a slowing rig count, less than-buoyant oil price and lack of offtake gas capacity could further threaten the business model of many of the play’s smaller ind