U.S. Seen as Biggest Oil Producer After Overtaking Saudi Arabia

[Chef Ramsay]

Oil pumps stand at the Chevron Corp. Kern River oil field in Bakersfield, California.

The U.S. will remain the world’s biggest oil producer this year after overtaking Saudi Arabia and Russia as extraction of energy from shale rock spurs the nation’s economic recovery, Bank of America Corp. said.

U.S. production of crude oil, along with liquids separated from natural gas, surpassed all other countries this year with daily output exceeding 11 million barrels in the first quarter, the bank said in a report today. The country became the world’s largest natural gas producer in 2010. The International Energy Agency said in June that the U.S. was the biggest producer of oil and natural gas liquids.

“The U.S. increase in supply is a very meaningful chunk of oil,” Francisco Blanch, the bank’s head of commodities research, said by phone from New York. “The shale boom is playing a key role in the U.S. recovery. If the U.S. didn’t have this energy supply, prices at the pump would be completely unaffordable.”

Oil extraction is soaring at shale formations in Texas and North Dakota as companies split rocks using high-pressure liquid, a process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The surge in supply combined with restrictions on exporting crude is curbing the price of West Texas Intermediate, America’s oil benchmark. The U.S., the world’s largest oil consumer, still imported an average of 7.5 million barrels a day of crude in April, according to the Department of Energy’s statistical arm.

More...http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-04/u-s-seen-as-biggest-oil-producer-after-overtaking-saudi.html

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[Ron~Popeil]

So much for the "peak oil" doomsayers. Now if the EPA would get out of the way of increasing our refining capacity we might actually see some semblance of this mystical recovery the mouth pieces keep telling us is happening.

[keyscore44]

Why does America keep invading oil rich countries if they can produce their own?

[Malin Keshar]

Why does America keep invading oil rich countries if they can produce their own?

1 - To control other's people source of oil. This will give them power.

2 - Because some of these oil countries wanted to use euro as reserve and commerce coin, not dollar.

[galbros]

Those are stripper pumps in the picture, used to pump oil from depleted fields.

The problem will be that shale formations do not seem to have the life of traditional oil fields.  So the US run to the top may be very short lived.  Still, it is good news for them.

[beetcoin]

we have our hands tied up in oil more than we even use. it's just use as a tool to gain more power. look at russia for example. if they piss us off, we'll just impose sanctions.

[Paya]

Why does America keep invading oil rich countries if they can produce their own?

Isn't it obvious? Americans are creating instabilities and triggering conflicts to drive the oil price high, and to keep it there. Thus, their huge investments in shale rock technology are well justified and profitable. This wouldn't work if the world was saturated with cheap oil coming from traditional sources. Also, bear in mind that they are not self-sufficient... yet. USA is still the biggest oil importer. They're gonna need at least another decade before their rapidly growing domestic production completely covers the consumption.

[beetcoin]

^ it's not just that.. the whole industry of how to make money off of exploiting people revolves around war. once you depose a government, you install your puppet and get your riches. you can even use government money to award contracts to all your friends.

[arbitrage001]

Why does America keep invading oil rich countries if they can produce their own?

1 - To control other's people source of oil. This will give them power.

2 - Because some of these oil countries wanted to use euro as reserve and commerce coin, not dollar.

Oil is a strategic resource. The country who controlled it control international commerce.

[ALToids]

^ it's not just that.. the whole industry of how to make money off of exploiting people revolves around war. once you depose a government, you install your puppet and get your riches. you can even use government money to award contracts to all your friends.

Explain Venezuela then.  Technically no open declaration of war.  No civil war.  They can't exploit themselves is what you're saying?

[bryant.coleman]

Confirmed. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), these are the oil production figures as of April 2014:

USA: 11,500,000 barrels / day. Source: http://omrpublic.iea.org/supply/us_to_ts.pdf

Russia: 10,750,000 barrels / day. Source: http://omrpublic.iea.org/supply/ru_to_ts.pdf

Saudi Arabia: 9,600,000 barrels / day. Source: http://omrpublic.iea.org/supply/sa_cr_ts.pdf

[DannyElfman]

Why does America keep invading oil rich countries if they can produce their own?

1 - To control other's people source of oil. This will give them power.

2 - Because some of these oil countries wanted to use euro as reserve and commerce coin, not dollar.

Oil is a strategic resource. The country who controlled it control international commerce.

Exactly, our standard of living in the US, requires us to consume a lot of energy, specifically energy from oil (diving cars and flying planes both, for all intensive purposes only run on energy sources from oil). Our military is also primary run on oil with a few exceptions.