American oil production is expected to reach record high levels this year, just in time for the US to help make up for the loss of oil coming out of the Middle East.
Along the Gulf Coast, crude oil output has been up about 10-percent by mid-year, and there are some experts expecting a 3-percent rise beyond that before the end of 2026.
Add to that a huge increase in the number of ships leaving Texas ports and elsewhere, headed for destinations all over the world.
King Operating CEO Jay Young says the US could be producing 14 million barrels each day this year, but with the industry working at top speed and capacity, it may be surprising that the majority of that output is coming from areas along the Gulf Coast plus a couple of areas in New Mexico.
Considering the amount of oil the world is used to receiving via import from the Middle East, the oil markets had a relatively calm reaction to increasing shortages in Asia these past six months, areas are also being helped by US exports of liquid natural gas (LNG).
"It's a big deal when you have that much disruption as you have in the Mideast, over that amount of time. I couldn't believe prices were down as long as they were with the amount of disruption going on," Young says.
But refineries in the US are being pushed to their limits and some will have to shut down for maintenance sometime soon, a routine chore that now could cut into US exports at a crucial time for Europe and Asia.
And then there are wells in Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that have been shut in, and when a well is closed for a while, there can be interior changes and damage from pressure that make the wells tough to get started again.
"They may have been producing 2,000 barrels a day, but when they come back on, you turn them off and then turn them on and they sometimes only come back in at 500 or 600 barrels a day, a-thousand barrels a day."