LONDON (Bloomberg) – U.S. oil production will fall next year for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a government forecast that will cast new doubt on Donald Trump’s “energy dominance” agenda.
The Energy Information Administration, a division of the energy department, on Tuesday said U.S. oil production would drop from a record high of 13.5mn barrels a day now to about 13.3mn barrels by the end of next year, as slumping oil prices rattle the sector.
 “With fewer active drilling rigs, we forecast U.S. operators will drill and complete fewer wells through 2026,” the EIA said in a monthly report published on Tuesday. Active rigs had “decreased by much more” than expected in a previous report, it said.
 The gloomy official forecast comes just months after Trump was re-elected following a presidential campaign in which he vowed to “unleash” American drilling, promote more oil production, and drive down energy prices. 
Soaring shale production in the past two decades made the U.S. the world’s biggest oil and gas producer, upending global commodity markets while feeding domestic industry with a steady stream of cheap energy.