Domestic oil production highest since '89

U.S. oil production jumped last week to the highest level since May 1989, cutting consumption of foreign fuel and putting the U.S. closer to energy independence. Drilling techniques including hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, pushed crude output up by 124,000 barrels, or 1.6 percent, to 7,745 million barrels a day in the seven days ended Sept. 6, the Energy Information Administration said. Rising crude supplies from fields including North Dakota's Bakken shale and the Eagle Ford in Texas have helped the U.S. become the world's largest exporter of refined fuels including gasoline and diesel.