HOUSTON, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. production of crude oil and dry natural gas will increase in 2019 and 2020, according to a report released Tuesday by U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

In the EIA's latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, U.S. crude oil production will average 12.3 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2019, up by 1.3 million from the 2018 level, and will rise by 0.9 million b/d in 2020 to an annual average of 13.2 million b/d.

Meanwhile, EIA forecast that average annual U.S. dry natural gas production will average 91.6 billion cubic feet (2.59 billion cubic meters) per day in 2019, up 10 percent from the 2018 average, and will average 93.5 billion cubic feet per day in 2020.

EIA expected that natural gas production will grow much less in 2020 because the delayed effect of low prices in the second half of 2019 will reduce natural gas-directed drilling in 2020.

EIA reported that U.S. crude oil production averaged 11.8 million b/d in July (the most recent month for which data are available), down 0.3 million b/d from June. Declining production was a result of Hurricane Barry, which disrupted crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.

According to EIA, U.S. crude oil production remained relatively flat during the first seven months of 2019 because of disruptions to Gulf of Mexico platforms and slowing growth in tight oil production. The slowing rate of growth in tight oil production reflects relatively flat crude oil price levels and slowing growth in well-level productivity in the Lower 48 states.

However, EIA expected growth to pick up in the fourth quarter as production returns in the Gulf of Mexico and pipelines in the Permian Basin come online to link production areas in West Texas and New Mexico to refining and export centers on the Gulf Coast. Enditem

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