Domestic crude production and overall petroleum demand both held essentially even last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Thursday.

Production for the period ended Sept. 2 was on par with the prior week at 12.1 million b/d, EIA said in its Weekly Petroleum Status Report. That kept output within striking distance of the 2022 high of 12.2 million b/d reached earlier in the summer.

Exploration and production (E&P) companies have been cautious about bolstering activity too aggressively amid political pressure to focus more on renewable energy and Wall Street demands to return capital to investors. However, E&Ps boosted production early in the summer and have since kept output near or above the 12 million b/d level to meet demand. While uneven week/week amid...