Rigs Drilling 57 Miles a Year Spur Record US Oil Output Forecast.

According to analysts at Macquarie Group, oil rigs in the Permian and Bakken basins in the US are currently producing at their most efficient rates in about 13 years. This has led to a prediction that the country's crude oil production will exceed most consensus views. The average length of horizontal lateral wells drilled in the Midland basin of Texas and New Mexico is close to a record, while the Bakken formation in North Dakota has also seen a record average. Drillers have been extending the length of their wells to three miles or more to increase output. Macquarie analyst Walt Chancellor believes that this activity will drive significant production growth, and he estimates that US production may reach a record 13.9 million barrels a day by the end of the year. [Extracted from the article]