US crude oil production plummeted in May, falling a record 2 million barrels per day to 10 million bpd, the US Energy Information Administration said in a monthly report Friday.
The drop, the sharpest monthly decline on record according to data going back to 2005, came after a price crash this spring due to oversupply and reduced demand owing to the novel coronavirus.
Top crude producer state Texas cut production by 764,000 bpd while North Dakota's output fell by 353,000 bpd in the month. Offshore drilling in the US Gulf of Mexico fell by 300,000 bpd, the report said.
Gasoline demand was down 23.5 percent from year-ago levels at 7.2 million bpd.
Demand for diesel and other distillate fuels fell 12.6 percent from a year earlier to 3.5 million bpd.