The United States will become the world’s largest oil producer by around 2020, temporarily overtaking Saudi Arabia, as new exploration technologies help find more resources, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has revealed. In its World Energy Outlook report, the energy watchdog also predicted that greater oil and natural gas production as well as more efficient use of energy will allow the US – to become nearly self-sufficient around 2035.
The US currently imports some 20 per cent of its energy needs. This would be “a dramatic reversal of the trend seen in most other energy-importing countries. Energy developments in the United States are profound and their effect will be felt well beyond North America – and the energy sector”, the Paris-based IEA said in its report