One of my 2023 energy predictions was “Total U.S. oil production will again rise, and set a new annual production record.” The previous annual record was set in 2019 at 12.3 million barrels per day (bpd), and by the end of 2022 monthly production was just about back to that level following the devasting Covid-19 impact on the industry in 2020. Of course, we don’t yet know if oil production will continue to creep higher, or whether falling prices will finally impact production. As I indicated when I made the prediction, I felt…