US shale oil boom grinds to a halt as Opec keeps pumping

San Francisco

THE shale oil boom that turned the US into the world's largest fuel exporter and brought US$3 petrol back to America's pumps is grinding to a halt.

Crude output from the prolific tight-rock formations such as North Dakota's Bakken and Texas's Eagle Ford shale will shrink 1.3 per cent to 5.58 million barrels a day this month, based on Energy Information Administration estimates. It'll drop further in July to 5.49 million, the lowest level since January, the agency said on Monday.

With the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries maintaining its own oil production, US shale is coming under pressure to rebalance a global supply glut. EOG Resources Inc, the country's biggest shale-oil producer, hedge fund…