Bakken oil output may hold its ground

While oil prices will determine the trajectory of the key US shale patch, regulation and technological shifts are also likely to shape direction longer term

The US Energy Information Administration recently caused a stir by predicting a small decline in US crude oil production next year in its Short-Term Energy Outlook, with the relatively mature Bakken leading it, but some industry experts are sceptical of declining Bakken production in both the short and longer term for several reasons. “Trump’s contradictory policies of both lower prices and ‘US energy dominance’ have put uncertainty into projections of US production growth,” Edward Morse, senior advisor and commodities strategist at merchant commodities firm Hartree Partners, told Petroleum Economist in an interview. “There is no doubt that lower oil prices, at times below $60/bl and even fl