U.S. set to become net oil exporter by 2021: IEA

World
Europe

Crude production is set to continue expanding in the United States thanks to shale oil, with the country becoming a net exporter from 2021, according to a report released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Monday.

The U.S. will account for 70 percent of the rise in global oil production and some 75 percent of the expansion in liquid natural gas (LNG) trade over the next five years.

By 2024, the country could be able to export nine million barrels a day, exceeding the export capabilities of Russia and coming close to those of Saudi Arabia, according to the report.

New technology that allows for extracting oil and gas from shale rock formations has led to a boom in oil production in the U.S. in recent years. With low production costs, that boom is set to continue.

"This will shake up international oil and gas trade flows, with profound implications for the geopolitics of energy," said Dr. Fatih Birol, the IEA's executive director.

Fracking Drilling Rig /VCG Photo

The IEA said it expects world demand for oil to grow at an average annual rate of 1.2 million barrels a day through 2024, reaching 106.4 million barrels a day.

The potential for China, U.S. cooperation

The oil and gas industry in China and the United States are complimentary, Hou Qijun, vice president of China National Petroleum Cooperation said at the CERAWeek energy conference on Monday.

China has become the world's largest oil importer in 2017 and also one of the largest natural gas importers in 2018.

Hou noted that China's increasing imports of U.S. energy can improve the trade structure of the two countries, reducing the trade deficit and diversify the energy import source of China.

The biggest increase of imports, both oil and gas, is coming from Asia, particularly from China, Toril Bosoni, a senior oil market analyst with the IEA said. He added that China and the United States have great potentials in energy cooperation.

China's imports of crude oil and natural gas jumped in 2018. Crude oil imports surged 10.1 percent year on year to 460 million tonnes, a record high, while, natural gas imports came in at 90.39 million tonnes, rising 31.9 percent year on year, according to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics.

Source(s): AFP ,Xinhua News Agency