Total U.S. oil production has plunged by close to 40% -- the most ever -- as an unprecedented cold blast freezes well operations across the central U.S., according to traders and industry executives with direct knowledge of the operations.
Crude output has now fallen by more than 4 million barrels a day nationwide, they said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public. Before the cold snap, the U.S. was pumping about 11 million barrels a day, according to government data. The estimate of oil production losses has climbed steadily over the last three days as companies and traders assess the situation.
