Emphasizing a significant deceleration, EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) CEO, Billy Helms, voiced the anticipation of a subdued U.S. crude oil production expansion this year, expanding less than half of the growth pace witnessed in 2023, predominantly due to the diminishing domestic drilling activity.

Concluding last year with an awe-inspiring record of production growth at 900K barrels per day from the year-end of 2022, the landscape is set to alter markedly, with U.S. oil expansion expected to slacken. Helms remarked at a Goldman Sachs energy conference, as reported by Bloomberg.

“Bringing on a lot of production last year, you’ve got a steeper decline to offset this next year,” the CEO said, illustrating that “U.S. production is not going to be able to continue to grow at the pace it did last year.”

Hinging on projections, Helms disclosed that EOG (EOG) anticipates a modest ~3% growth in its 2023 oil production upon the impending disclosure of Q4 earnings in the forthcoming weeks.

EOG (EOG) is not envisaging a surge in overall activity, yet the possibility of escalation in drilling within its promising Utica Shale fields remains on the cards, Helms disclosed.