US oil production expected to remain steady

Despite a noticeable decline in drilling activity in the U.S. due to a sharp drop in prices, oil production is expected to remain stable.

The Energy Department’s stat shop said on Monday that the number of operating rigs are projected to decrease by 24 percent from January to October of this year before rebounding in November. 

{mosads}Still, if oil prices rise in the second half of 2015 then drilling activity would stabilize and “prevent a substantial production decline,” the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said. 

Helping that along is a backlog of construction on wells, which EIA said “acts as a cushion” for production. 

But, EIA warned, “different outcomes are entirely possible under other price scenarios.”