US Now Produces More Oil and Gas Than Russia and Saudi Arabia

Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "Claudia Assis writes that the US will end 2013 as the world's largest producer of petroleum and natural gas, surpassing Russia and Saudi Arabia with the Energy Information Administration estimating that combined US petroleum and gas production this year will hit 50 quadrillion British thermal units, or 25 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, outproducing Russia by 5 quadrillion Btu. Most of the new oil was coming from the western states. Oil production in Texas has more than doubled since 2010. In North Dakota, it has tripled, and Oklahoma, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah have also shown steep rises in oil production over the same three years, according to EIA data. Tapping shale rock for oil and gas has fueled the US boom, while Russia has struggled to keep up its output. 'This is a remarkable turn of events,' says Adam Sieminski, head of the US Energy Information Administration. 'This is a new era of thinking about market conditions, and opportunities created by these conditions, that you wouldn't in a million years have dreamed about.' But even optimists in the US concede that the shale boom's longevity could hinge on commodity prices, government regulations and public support, the last of which could be problematic. A poll last month by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that opposition to increased use of fracking rose to 49% from 38% in the previous six months. 'It is not a supply question anymore,' says Ken Hersh. 'It is about demand and the cost of production. Those are the two drivers."'"

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Automakers are gearing up their Monster SUV production lines to help suburbanites get their groceries up their driveways.

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The problem with stockpiles, as the US will eventually find out, is after a few years the amount in reserve doesn't equal the amount on the books.

So you're predicting the future, Svengali? Here's my prediction; the US won't notice as the loss, even if in the millions of dollars, as an elephant notices a gnat, so I'm not sure what your point is, unless you're pretending to be relevant in a conversation where adults are talking; and a question (not to you, but to the other adults in the room) is this going to lower the price of gasoline anytime soon? I'm guessing not.