U.S. on Track to Become World's Largest Producer of Crude Oil
By: Scott Picken
Updated: October 24, 2012
ABC NEWS -- America's oil boom is surging so fast the US could soon overtake Saudi Arabia as the world's largest producer. Driven by high prices and new drilling methods, US production of crude and other liquid hydrocarbons is on track to rise 7 percent this year.
This will be the fourth straight year of crude increases and the biggest single-year gain since 1951. The Energy Department forecasts production of crude and other liquid hydrocarbons, which includes biofuels, will average 11.4 million barrels per day next year. That would be just shy of the amount Saudi Arabia produces.
"We've been a long time net importer of crude oil by a large amount," says Ben Brockwell of the Oil Price Information Service. "There are expert analysts who predict that within the next five years, the U-S could be an exporter of crude oil."
This will be the fourth straight year of crude increases and the biggest single-year gain since 1951. The Energy Department forecasts production of crude and other liquid hydrocarbons, which includes biofuels, will average 11.4 million barrels per day next year. That would be just shy of the amount Saudi Arabia produces.
"We've been a long time net importer of crude oil by a large amount," says Ben Brockwell of the Oil Price Information Service. "There are expert analysts who predict that within the next five years, the U-S could be an exporter of crude oil."
