US shale fields across the country reported production drops of a combined 80,000 b/d, the EIA said.

The drop in production is lower than expected, being a smaller reduction than what was observed over the last four months. The report focuses on the largest shale fields: Bakken, Eagle Ford, Haynesville, Marcellus, Niobrara, Permian, and Utica.

Not all of the fields saw their production fall, with the Utica and Permian plays seeing rises. However, shale fields typically see production fall off rapidly after 3 years, and many of the fields are maturing quickly.

The two largest fields—Eagle Ford and Bakken—observed the steepest drops, when combined approximately 80,000 b/d.

Drops in production has been stemmed as rigs become more efficient, New well oil production per rig was set to rise by 2 bpd to 694 bpd in the Bakken, up by 5 bpd to 370 bpd in the Permian and up by 3 bpd to 795 bpd in the Eagle Ford, reported Reuters.