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U.S. On Track To Surpass Russia As The World's Leading Oil Producer
Written by Tim Morral
Published: 10/17/2013
At the current pace, the U.S. is set to overtake Russia as the top global oil producer during the second quarter of 2014, thanks to the recent boom in shale oil.
In a development that few people would have seen coming as recently as a decade ago, Reuters has reported that the U.S. is on track to surpass Russia as the world's top oil producer.
According to the Reuters report, the current pace of production puts the U.S. on schedule to overtake Russia during the second quarter of 2014, thanks to increased output generated by the shale oil boom -- a phenomenon that is having a transformational impact on the global energy landscape.
The shale oil boom has already reduced U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Weeks ago, China surpassed the U.S. as the world's leading oil importer. Combined with increased domestic oil production, declining imports have given the U.S. additional leverage in energy diplomacy and relationships with OPEC nations.
"The United States' place in the driver's seat of growth is a throwback to decades past," the International Energy Agency said. "With output of more than 10 million barrels per day for the last two quarters, its highest in decades, the nation is set to become the largest non-OPEC liquids producer by the second quarter of 2014, overtaking Russia. And that's not even counting biofuels and refinery gains."
It's important to note that the current U.S. oil boom is also impacting the outlook for many small and medium-sized businesses in the U.S. Although the oil industry is primarily comprised of large companies, small and medium-sized energy producers do exist. More importantly, small and medium-sized businesses play a key role in providing big oil companies with products and services at both the local and national level.
The rosy outlook in U.S. oil production is a positive sign for small and medium-sized businesses across the oil industry -- but it's no guarantee of success. Consistent, periodic forecasting activities are a must to ensure that these companies' strategies are aligned with anticipated demand in their specific sectors and geographic locations.
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