Matt Gallagher, the chief executive of Parsley Energy, one of the largest independent shale oil companies in Texas, has said that it is his belief that US crude production has already peaked for his lifetime, at the 13 million barrels per day at the start of this year. US crude production has fallen markedly since January, dropping to around 11 million b/d, while the number of horizontal drilling rigs operating on 9 July this year was 223, down from 853 one year ago. Shale oil producers are now focused on making their companies profitable, rather than focusing on output growth, which the industry had previously been chasing – in doing so, turning the US into a net exporter of oil (since November last year). The 37-year old MR Gallagher told the Financial Times that the downturn is “really dejecting, because drilling our first well in 2009 we saw the wave of energy independence at our fingertips for the US, and it was very rewarding…to be a part of it”.