MOSCOW, November 12 (RIA Novosti) – A shale oil boom in the United States may turn the country into the world’s largest oil producer by 2020, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its annual World Energy Outlook on Monday.
“By around 2020, the United States is projected to become the largest global oil producer … overtaking Saudi Arabia,” the IEA said.
“The result is a continued fall in US oil imports (currently at 20 percent of its needs) to the extent that North America becomes a net oil exporter around 2030.”
IEA experts earlier predicted Saudi Arabia and Russia would be long-term leaders in oil production.
Global oil demand is expected to reach 99.7 mb/d in 2035, up from 87.4 mb/d in 2011, and the average IEA crude oil import price will rise to $125/barrel (in year-2011 dollars) in 2035. Global oil demand is expected to peak by 2020, the agency said.