BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 14. US liquids production, excluding processing gains, is expected to grow by 1.3 mb/d year-on-year in 2023, averaging 20.6 mb/d, Trend reports.
As per OPEC's recent review, in September, there was a significant surge in US liquids production, marking a monthly increase of 452,000 b/d, reaching a record-high average of 21.6 mb/d. This represented a substantial rise of 1.7 mb/d compared to September 2022.
Specifically, crude oil and condensate production experienced a monthly uptick of 224,000 b/d, averaging 13.2 mb/d in September. This reflected a year-on-year increase of 0.9 mb/d.
As OPEC noted, the forecast for 2023 production growth remains largely consistent with last month's assessment but is reinforced by a more robust output in recent months.
Despite a decrease in drilling activity since the beginning of the year, increased well productivity, operational efficiency, and the utilization of drilled-but-uncompleted wells have contributed to the production boost.
Additionally, it is anticipated that there will be fewer supply chain and logistical issues in major prolific shale sites for the remainder of 2023, the bloc added.
Anticipating a steady sound level of oil field drilling and well completions, OPEC's forecast indicates that crude oil and condensate output will experience a year-on-year increase of 0.8 mb/d, reaching an average of 12.8 mb/d. Thus, the average output for tight crude in 2023 is expected to be 8.4 mb/d, showing a year-on-year increase of 0.7 mb/d.
Concurrently, NGL production and non-conventional liquids, especially ethanol, are projected to see a year-on-year growth of 0.4 mb/d and 71,000 b/d, respectively, averaging 6.3 mb/d and 1.5 mb/d.