The Permian basin has not seen peak production, and increases in output from the region will help to offset production declines in other basins going forward, Occidental Petroleum CEO Vicki Hollub said on April 12.

Crude output in the Permian basin in Texas and New Mexico, the biggest U.S. shale oil basin, is expected to rise to 5.62 million barrels per day (MMbbl/d) in April, according to estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

While the projection would be a record high, oil output from the region is expected to gain by 26,000 bbl/d from March, the smallest increase since last December, EIA data showed.

Oil prices have surged above $80 since the beginning of the month, after OPEC+ surprised markets with an announcement of voluntary production cuts of 1.66 MMbbl/d from May through the end of 2023.

Pioneer Natural Resources CEO Scott Sheffield said on April 12 that if oil prices break above $90 per barrel, then prices will likely reach $100/ bbl this year. Sheffield estimated that prices would then remain in a range of $90/ bbl to $100/bbl for some time.

OPEC+'s surprise output cut was to maintain a balance between supply and demand, Kuwait Petroleum Corp. CEO Shaikh Nawaf S. Al-Sabah said.

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