HOUSTON, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Shale oil production from the U.S. Permian Basin was estimated to be 2.92 million barrels per day (bpd) in February, and output in March is projected to increase by 75,000 bpd, according to a report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Monday.
The EIA's Drilling Productivity Report also said that gas production from the Permian Basin in March will be 9.97 billion cubic feet (282.2 million cubic meters) per day.
The Permian Basin, known for its shale oil and gas, is a sedimentary basin largely contained in the western part of the U.S. state of Texas and the southeastern part of New Mexico.
Shale oil production in southern U.S. states hit a record of 815 million barrels in 2017, which far exceeded its previous peak of 790 million barrels set in 1973.
The Permian Basin is ranked top among all U.S. shale oil basins. Operators began production in the "Super Basin" in the 1920s and have since pumped more than 39 billion barrels of oil there.
Conventional oil production - vertical wells drilled into traditional reservoirs - declined steadily from 1970s to early 2000s, before horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing remade the U.S. oil industry.
