There are conflicting new reports out about oil production in the United States. For Inside Energy, Emily Guerin reports.
There are two indicators of an oilfield slowdown that everyone is watching: oil production and number of drilling rigs.
Falling oil prices have led companies to virtually stop drilling new wells. That means fewer drilling rigs nationwide.
Oil production -- the amount produced in a given week -- is also down in places like Wyoming and North Dakota. Nationwide it’s plateaued.
In a new report, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries predicts that US oil production will peak sometime this spring and then begin to fall. But the U.S. Energy Information Administration is more optimistic. Its forecast shows production growing through 2020.