U.S. oil production surged to an all-time high in November, topping the previous record set nearly half a century ago, government data showed on Wednesday.

The nation's drillers pumped 10.057 million barrels a day in November, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a monthly report. That edges out the previous record of 10.044 million barrels a day set in November 1970.

The record-setting output comes after a revision to last month's report showing November's output leaped to 10.038 million barrels a day.

While the new all-time high production shows American drillers pulled ahead of Saudi Arabia to briefly become the world's second biggest producer, the United States may have slipped back into third place in December. The first monthly reading for December shows U.S. output slid back to 9.949 million barrels.