Preliminary data for March show total crude oil production from Texas was up slightly from the previous month, but lower year-on-year.

The Railroad Commission of Texas, the state energy regulator, reported a preliminary volume of crude oil and condensate, an ultra-light form of oil found in some shale deposits, of 86,676,002 barrels for March. That's up nearly 2 percent, or 1.5 million barrels, from the previous month. Year-on-year output, however, is lower based on preliminary data.

"Texas preliminary March 2017 crude oil production averaged 2,492,349 barrels daily, compared to the 2,506,539 barrels daily average of March 2016," the commission stated.

The rate of change between February and March is consistent with historical trends, with March levels turning out higher than the previous month since at least 2011. Total oil and condensate production last year increased 5.3 percent from February to March, while preliminary data for March 2017 would indicate an increase of 1.8 percent.

Production in February came from 169,008 wells, while March output came from 177,719 wells.

Total wells completed, a metric that loosely equates to the prospect for commercial operations, is down year-on-year, though Texas economists said that could indicate future potential more than a downturn.

Variances in efficiency, whereby completing a small number of higher-producing wells versus a large number of lower-producing wells, could influence future production in either direction.

The RRC offered no indication for the decline in year-on-year production. If data are accurate so far, Texas crude oil and condensate production is the lowest it's been since 2013. The most recent peak for production was in 2015, when cumulative output for the first three months was 317 million barrels. So far this year, production is 264.8 million barrels.

A 2015 review of state data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration found Texas estimates tended to be on the low side because of incomplete data. EIA found revisions to state data usually show an average increase of around 30 percent and data issues are usually resolved in about two years.

The Permian shale basin in Texas is considered one that's more resilient to the type of depressed market that sidelined investments last year and considerable gains are expected this year by the EIA.

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