US oil stockpiles hit record amid production boom

U.S. commercial oil stockpiles hit a new record last week on the strength of continued growth in oil and gas production, the government said Wednesday. Commercial stocks increased 3.5 million barrels to 397.7 million barrels for the week ended April 18, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said. That is the highest level of inventories since the EIA began releasing weekly data in 1982. It is also the highest level of commercial stocks since 1932, according to monthly data kept by the agency. “It’s a real renaissance for the U.S. oil production industry,” founding partner at Again Capital John Kilduff said, according to AFP. Domestic oil production has risen to 8.4 million barrels per day (bpd) compared with 7.3 million a year ago, driven by new production from oil shale deposits.