U.S. oil production is set to rise above $80 a barrel, with the surge in prices seeing a boost in output by shale producers. Benchmark U.S. crude futures prices have jumped more than $5 a barrel since the end of December. Oil prices hit at a two month high on Jan. 12, with U.S. crude inventories posting a decline for a seventh straight week. American oil and gas producers have expanded new well facilities in the Permian Basin of west Texas and New Mexico—the top shale oil field in the United States. Producers have increased the number of operational pressure pumps in the basin by 5 percent in December. The Permian fields are expected to account for the vast majority of the projected boost in U.S. output of up to 900,000 bpd in 2022 and is expected to rise to a record high the following year. The current production estimate for …