Saturday 6 January 2018

US ‘poised to become world’s largest oil producer’

The US is poised to become the world’s biggest oil producer, overtaking Russia and Saudi Arabia.

That's the prediction from research firm Rystad Energy, which suggests increased shale oil output from fracking could ramp up US domestic crude production by as much as a tenth in 2018.

It says this would bring the nation's total oil output to nearly 11 million barrels per day, lifting it above both of its competitors for the first time since 1975.

The group says adopting fracking has allowed the US to be less reliant on foreign oil, including from the volatile Middle East region.

Donald Trump’s removal of red tape and environmental regulations, as well as approving the Keystone XL pipeline and loosening offshore drilling regulations has boosted optimism even further.