Total U.S. oil production declined by about one half of one percent for the week ending Jan. 30, with output from the Lower 48 slowing down, data show.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration in its weekly petroleum status report showed total U.S. oil production was off slightly to 9.17 million barrels per day for the week ending Jan. 30. Production from Alaska was off 1.4 percent to 497,000 bpd, while output from the Lower 48 was down about 0.3 percent for the week.

Oil prices are such that companies working in the exploration and production side of the industry are cutting expenses. Those in secondary industries like steel and well services, meanwhile, are announcing layoffs.

The price at which exploration and production becomes less profitable varies among U.S. basins. Some fields in Texas are profitable at oil priced around $48 per barrel, while the Bakken oil field in North Dakota needs oil priced near the $60 mark to break even.

The price for West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. oil benchmark, was around $49 per barrel for March delivery early Thursday.

A report published earlier this week by IHS Energy finds growth in U.S. oil production may decline by the middle of the year because low oil prices will constrain production from shale. That report used WTI at $60 per barrel as its high-end estimate.

The number of rigs in service in North Dakota, the No. 2 oil producer in the United States, are off from their historic peak and oil services company Baker Hughes found the trend established globally.