EIA forecasts that total U.S. crude oil production will average 9.3 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2017, up 0.5 million b/d from 2016. In 2018, crude oil production is expected to reach an average of 9.9 million b/d, which would surpass the previous record of 9.6 million b/d set in 1970.

Crude oil production from the seven major US onshore regions is projected to rise 113,000 b/d month-over-month in August to 5.585 million b/d.

While US demand for gas is rising because of higher industrial consumption, more than half of the production increase will be used for LNG for export. By 2022, IEA estimates that the US will be on course to challenge Australia and Qatar for global leadership among LNG exporters.

Proposed new US sanctions on Russia approved by the Senate could have “unintended consequences”, hitting US jobs and oil and gas projects around the world, the industry has warned.

US Energy Sec. Rick Perry observed, “History teaches us that the world is not stagnant. Mexico had one of its biggest natural gas discoveries in history last week. I’ve just returned from talks with government leaders there, and I believe Mexico will become an even bigger oil and gas supplier as we go about building this new North American energy partnership.”

The U.S. shale boom—which reshaped world markets for crude oil and natural gas before Mr. Trump took office—has only limited impact on Russia’s standing as a major energy provider to Europe and Asia.

API announced that estimated total wells drilled and completed in the second quarter of 2017 increased 62 percent compared to the second quarter of 2016. This includes a 41 percent increase in estimated development gas well completions and a dramatic 81 percent increase in total estimated oil well completions from year-ago levels. Total estimated oil well completions also increased 19 percent from the first quarter of 2017. Growing well completion figures could lead to an increase in U.S. oil production, which rose 62 percent from 2010 to 2016, and U.S. natural gas production which, also increased 26 percent during the same time.

Industrial production rose 0.4 percent in June for its fifth consecutive monthly increase. Manufacturing output moved up 0.2 percent; although factory output has gone up and down in recent months, its level in June was little different from February. The index for mining posted a gain of 1.6 percent in June, just slightly below its pace in May. The index for utilities, however, remained unchanged. For the second quarter as a whole, industrial production advanced at an annual rate of 4.7 percent, primarily as a result of strong increases for mining and utilities. Manufacturing output rose at an annual rate of 1.4 percent, a slightly slower increase than in the first quarter. At 105.2 percent of its 2012 average, total industrial production in June was 2.0 percent above its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector increased 0.2 percentage point in June to 76.6 percent, a rate that is 3.3 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2016) average.

U.S. Rig Count is up 505 rigs from last year's count of 447, with oil rigs up 408, gas rigs up 98, and miscellaneous rigs down 1 to 0. Canadian Rig Count is up 96 rigs from last year's count of 95, with oil rigs up 62, gas rigs up 35, and miscellaneous rigs down 1 to 0.

From 2012 through the end of 2015, debt was a significant source of capital for the producers included in the analysis, with the addition of a cumulative $55.3 billion in net debt. Since the beginning of 2016, however, these producers have reduced debt by $1.4 billion. The combination of higher equity and lower debt has resulted in the long-term debt-to-equity ratio, a measure of financial leverage, declining from 88% to 80% for the group of companies as a whole between the first quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017.