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Report: US could surpass Saudi Arabia as oil producer by 2020
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10/23/12 03:31 PM ET
The United States could overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s No. 1 oil producer by 2020, The Associated Press reports.
The United States is in the midst of an oil boom thanks to high prices and new drilling methods. U.S. production of hydrocarbons is rising for the fourth year in a row, and 2012 could very well be the biggest single-year gain since 1951, around 7 percent. By 2020, the United States could produce somewhere between 13 and 15 million barrels per day. This would reverse declining U.S. production since 1985, when Alaskan oil fields helped the United States produce 11.2 million barrels per day.
If the U.S. does overtake Saudi Arabia, it will be the first time since 2002, when the Saudis cut prices due to depressed demand in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
The boom has surpassed even the rosiest predictions from experts and is driving economic growth in states that have been open to new drilling methods such as North Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. Hydraulic fracturing, a method of extracting oil and gas by cracking open long, thin layers of shale with water, sand and chemicals, has been key to the boom. High prices have incentivized exploration for these sources.
This is not the first time that some have predicted the United States becoming the world’s top oil producer. John Freeman, an analyst with Raymond James & Associates, has previously predicted just that.
The United States is in the midst of an oil boom thanks to high prices and new drilling methods. U.S. production of hydrocarbons is rising for the fourth year in a row, and 2012 could very well be the biggest single-year gain since 1951, around 7 percent. By 2020, the United States could produce somewhere between 13 and 15 million barrels per day. This would reverse declining U.S. production since 1985, when Alaskan oil fields helped the United States produce 11.2 million barrels per day.
If the U.S. does overtake Saudi Arabia, it will be the first time since 2002, when the Saudis cut prices due to depressed demand in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
While the United States might become the biggest producer of oil, that doesn’t mean Americans will no longer import oil. Indeed, Americans will still see relatively high prices due to growing worldwide demand.
This is not the first time that some have predicted the United States becoming the world’s top oil producer. John Freeman, an analyst with Raymond James & Associates, has previously predicted just that.
