Record levels of oil and gas production will make the US a net energy exporter by 2020: EIA

The US will become a net energy exporter in 2020 for the first time in almost 70 years, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its Annual Energy Outlook 2019. This will be due to a combination of an increase in crude oil, natural gas and natural gas plant liquids (NGPL) production, and a decrease in domestic consumption of petroleum products.

Natural gas and NGPLs will have the highest production growth, with NGPLs accounting for almost one-third of cumulative liquids production in the US during the projection period.

Other key takeaways from the report include:

The US will continue producing record levels of crude oil and natural gas through the next decade: EIA projects the US to break annual crude oil production records through the mid-2020s and upwards of 14 million barrels per day through 2040. Natural gas production is expected to grow by seven per cent annually from 2018 to 2020 – driven by the continued development of tight oil and shale gas resources.

US liquified natural gas exports are expected to experience massive growth over the next two years: Relatively low, stable prices will allow US natural gas exports to remain competitive in North American and global markets. In particular, demand growth from Asia will lead to exports to more markets beyond Mexico and Canada.

Renewable energy will play an increasing role in US electricity generation: Intermittent renewables, especially solar and wind, will take on a larger share of electric generation for the US. The EIA projects that electricity generation from renewables will overtake nuclear and coal within a decade, as the declining costs of renewable capacity makes these fuels increasingly competitive.

For more long-term projections of the US energy market, please download the full report here.