US oil reserves reaching energy independence

The United States crude production has rocketed since 2009, prompting some analysts to suggest that the country may not be far away from energy independence,

The number of rigs in US oil fields has more than quadrupled in the past three years to 1,272, according to the Baker Hughes rig count. Including those in natural gas fields, the US now has more rigs at work than the entire rest of the world.

According to Marshall Adkins, who directs energy research for financial services company Raymond James, if this supply trend continues in line with the domestic 'squeezing', then the country could be at a point where it doesn’t have to import oil in ten years.

The oil fields in Texas and North Dakota, as well as the growth of deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico are chiefly responsible for this resurgence, that had dipped significantly pre-2009.

The US has recently signed an agreement with Mexico that would help US firms and Mexican oil monopoly Pemex exploit deep water oil resources in the Gulf of Mexico that straddle the countries' maritime boundaries.

Posted by Joseph Hutton