U.S. Oil Output Is Strong Despite Very Low Prices. Or could prices be low because of strong output?

See By Resilient U.S. Oil Production Is a Boon to Trump. How Long Will It Last? The oil patch has weathered the lowest crude prices in years and kept pumping by Benoît Morenne of The WSJ. 

Much of this article describes the improvement in oil technology. When technology improves, supply shifts to the right. Then price falls and quantity bought and sold in the market increase. Excerpts:

"Remote monitoring and other feats of technology that have become mainstream are among the clues that help explain why U.S. oil production has—thus far—defied predictions that it would decline in conjunction with the lowest crude prices since the pandemic."

"the country’s wells last year gushed a record 13.6 million barrels of crude on average each day—100,000 barrels more than the Energy Information Administration, the federal forecaster, had anticipated before President Trump’s inauguration."

"Executives credit the outperformance in part to companies’ engineering prowess and the changing makeup of the industry. Oil giants now have a bigger share of crude production in their hands and are largely impervious to price swings, ensuring a steady output. Among other field enhancements, these companies now routinely drill wells that extend over 4 miles and allow them to collect more crude at a lower cost."

"A gallon of regular unleaded gasoline cost $2.92 on average in the U.S. on Tuesday, according to AAA, down 24 cents from a year ago."

"the Permian, a humongous oil field that spans West Texas and New Mexico . . . logged a record 6.72 million barrels a day in the most recent quarter."

"the unruly, debt-fueled frackers that would retreat when prices fell have died off. They have given way to giants armed with sturdy balance sheets that can better weather price shocks."

"these companies have been deploying drilling and pumping innovations across their respective empires. For instance, Chevron in 2019 ran 21 rigs and five frack crews in the Permian. This year it anticipates it will need only six rigs and two frack crews to produce about 67% more oil-and-gas in the region than seven years ago."

"Each rig on average drills 1,500 feet a day, which is more than twice as much as in 2019."

"horizontal wells that extend out 2 miles, make a 180-degree turn and extend for another 2 miles in a U shape."