U.S. crude production fell marginally by 2,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) to 10.467 million bbl/d in April from the highest on record in March, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a monthly report on June 29.
U.S. monthly crude oil exports jumped to a record 1.76 million bbl/d in April compared with 1.67 million bbl/d in March, according to the data. Weekly U.S. crude exports surged to a high of 3 million bbl/d last week.
Exports of crude oil from the U.S. have ramped up since Washington lifted a ban late in 2015, with shipments reaching more than 20 countries in April.
Production in Texas, the largest producing state in the U.S., rose 30,000 bbl/d to 4.22 million bbl/d in April, a record high based on the data going back to 2005. Output in Texas has risen every month consecutively for at least one year on a year-over-year basis, the data showed.
New Mexico production jumped to 649,000 bbl/d compared with 624,000 bbl/d in March.
The Permian Basin, which stretches across West Texas and eastern New Mexico, is the largest U.S. oil field.
North Dakota oil output rose 61,000 bbl/d in April to 1.21 million bbl/d versus March while output in the federal Gulf of Mexico declined 98,000 bbl/d to 1.58 million bbl/d.
The agency also revised March oil production down by 5,000 bbl/d to 10.469 million bbl/d.
Crude imports from Iraq surged to 830,000 bbl/d, the highest since February 2003.
The U.S. also imported 561,000 bbl/d from Venezuela, where oil output has declined amid political unrest. That was the highest since July 2017.
Gasoline demand in April was 9.19 million bbl/d, down about 0.7%, or 61,000 bbl/d, from a year earlier, according to the report. Gasoline exports also dropped to 886,000 bbl/d in April, the lowest since October, from 951,000 bbl/d in March.
Demand for distillate fuels, including diesel and heating oil was 4.15 million bbl/d, up 363,000 bbl/d from a year earlier. Distillate fuel exports jumped to 1.46 million bbl/d from 1.15 million bbl/d in March.
U.S. natural gas production in the lower 48 states rose to 89.09 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in April, up from a revised 88.83 Bcf/d in March, according to the EIA's 914 production report.
Output in Texas, the nation's largest gas producer, increased 1% in April to 22.9 Bcf/d.
In Pennsylvania, the second biggest gas producing state, production fell slightly to 16.4 Bcf/d in April, little changed from March.
The U.S. has been the world's biggest producer of gas since 2009, ahead of Russia.
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