BP reported a surprise increase in oil production from aging fields that, according to chief executive Robert Dudley, he hadn’t seen in his close to four-decade career in the industry. BP reported a 12-percent increase in oil production last year, to the highest level since 2010. In an interview with Bloomberg on the sidelines of CERAWeek, Dudley said “I cannot remember ever in my career having seen a negative decline rate.” And BP is not alone, either, Bloomberg’s Javier Blas notes. Norwegian oil companies and Shell have also reported better production results from their mature fields. While for the companies operating these fields should pat themselves on the back, it is a new problem for OPEC, which is currently focusing on U.S. shale as its main problem in keeping prices high. Data from the International Energy Agency reveals that the phenomenon is not limited to a couple of supermajors, […]