U.S. oil output may drop late this year

London     A report says, U.S. oil output could start to take a hit by late 2015 due to low prices.

The halving of oil prices since June 2014 has prompted spending cuts by oil companies and a drop in U.S. drilling, raising expectations of slowing output in countries outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

But in a monthly report, OPEC left its forecast for non-OPEC supply this year unchanged and said output of U.S. “tight” oil, also known as shale, might only start to be curbed towards the end of the year

Oil’s collapse from $115 a barrel in 2014 gained impetus after OPEC refused to cut output at a November meeting, seeking to slow higher-cost production in the United States and elsewhere that had been eroding its market share.

OPEC holds its next meeting in June and comments from officials so far suggest it will not adjust policy as it waits for the strategy to take effect.