While much of the world spent 2025 debating peak oil, the United States was busy setting another production record. New data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed that U.S. crude oil production, including lease condensate, averaged a record 13.6 million barrels per day last year, extending America’s run as the world’s largest crude producer. That streak began in 2018, when the United States overtook Russia. Since then, shale has done what shale does best: annoy OPEC, defy forecasts, and keep pumping. The 2025 figure…