US oil output climbs toward level not seen since pandemic’s start

Higher prices are buoying drillers’ confidence: Benchmark Nymex oil gained nearly 35 percent in the past four months after OPEC and its alliance cut production to strike a balance between demand and supply.

The Permian Basin, the U.S.’s most prolific shale patch, will produce crude oil at levels not seen since the start of the pandemic in the latest sign the global economy is heating back up. Higher prices are buoying drillers’ confidence. Benchmark Nymex oil gained nearly 35% in the past four months after OPEC and its alliance cut production to strike a balance between demand and supply. The fossil fuel is also getting a bump as Covid-19 vaccinations progress and Americans travel again, boosting gasoline consumption.