Non-OPEC United States’ Oil Production Could Outdo Saudi Arabia and Russia by 2019



It is predicted that oilproduction in the United States could reach 10.8 million barrels per day by 2019. At a present capacity of 10.3 millions, this is 500,000 more barrels a day than the country is currently producing and represents an amount that could put the nation in first place, above Saudi Arabia and Russia with regards to oil production. This forecast has been made by the U.S Department of Energy.
On top of this, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects that this output will eventually hit 11 million barrels a day by the end of 2019. This will be an unprecedented high for the country.
The U.S looks likely to lead the way for non-OPEC production, which is anticipated to carry on growing all the way through to the end of 2019. This will be accompanied by a number of new oil sands projects up in Canada.
But Russia is not going to be easy to beat, as it was recorded to be churning out 11 million barrels per day in 2017. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, one of the most prominent members of OPEC, is producing around 10 million barrels per day. However, both countries are making a conscious effort to limit their output after a deal was made with almost 25 producer nations. The aim of the deal is to reduce global oil stockpiles and prop up prices. By limiting supply to a certain extent, OPEC is hoping to stabilise the market and stop prices from falling too far. But, this may be undermined if the U.S continues to expand in such a rapid way.
At the end of 2016, Saudi Arabia’s production was around 10.6 million barrels per day, but this was before OPEC decided it was going to cap production. While this cap does not restrict Russia, the nation faces certain energy sanctions because of its annexation of Crimea. This could stop it from reaching its full barrel producing potential.
So, what is causing this U.S increase in production? It is mainly being driven by shale fields. Here, drillers can use highly complex methods such as hydraulic fracturing, which extract oil and gas from tight rock formations. Indeed, so effective is this method that U.S production of crude oil could grow by almost a million barrels per day in 2018. Most of this growth is anticipated to come from the tight rock formations located in Texas and North Dakota.
Shale fields in the U.S are partly responsible for the price collapse in 2014.
Elsewhere, despite West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) hitting its highest price in over three years at more than $63 per barrel, the EIA reckons that the average price for WTI will be less than $53 a barrel this year.


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