The biggest crude oil resource in the US, Permian shale patch, is expected to hit a record high output in April, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Monday. 

The US oil shale is expected to increase by 70,000 barrels a day from March till April, reaching 5.208 million in April, according to the administration in a Drilling Productivity Report.

As for all US shale sites, the total production is expected to increase by 117,000 barrels a day to 8.708 million next month, which is the most since March 2020, the time when output began falling with lower demands for oil which is caused by the coronavirus pandemic. 

The second-largest shale basin, the Bakken, has an output that is expected to increase by 16,000 barrels a day to reach 1.188 million barrels by April, which is the highest number since December 2020.

According to the EIA outlook, total natural gas output from the gas basins may rise by 0.6 billion cubic feet a day in March, hitting a record of 92.3 billion cubic feet daily in April.

Venezuela could supply oil to West in Mid-2022 if sanctions removed

Venezuela could begin supplying oil to the United States and Europe in the middle of 2022, provided that the latter remove the sanctions they imposed on Caracas, Venezuelan National Assembly oil and energy committee chairman Angel Rodriguez told Sputnik.

"If the [unilateral] measures are suspended ... considering what we have already achieved at the moment, we could supply energy that the US and Europe need so much in the middle of the year," the Venezuelan official said. 

He revealed that for Caracas and Washington to strike a deal, the latter should make Venezuela an ambiguous offer, Rodriguez said, explaining that the key factor disrupting the country's economic situation is the US itself.

The legislator hoped that a possible resumption of oil exports to the US and Europe would not affect Caracas' relations with Moscow.

The White House said Monday a US delegation met with Venezuelan government officials in Caracas over the weekend for talks that included a discussion of energy supplies, as Washington sought ways to reduce its reliance on Russian oil, whose imports, along with Russian liquified natural gas and coal, it has now banned.