U.S. set to be top oil producer

U.S. oil output is poised to surpass Saudi Arabia’s in the next decade, making the world’s biggest fuel consumer almost self-reliant and putting it on track to become a net exporter, the International Energy Agency said Monday.

Growing supplies of crude extracted through new technology including hydraulic fracturing of underground rock formations will transform the United States into the largest producer for about five years starting about 2020, the agency, adviser to 28 nations, said in its annual World Energy Outlook. The United States met 83 percent of its energy needs in the first six months of this year, according to the Energy Department.

The United States, whose crude imports have fallen 11 percent this year, is on track to produce the most oil since 1991, according to Energy Department data.

Read more: sfgate.com

There is a part in the article : Growing supplies of crude extracted through new technology including hydraulic fracturing of underground rock formations will transform the United States into the largest producer for about five years starting about 2020, so if I am reading correctly, while good news, it is only temporary and kind of represents getting oil by improved geological “scrapping of the barrel”.

That tell me that we can use the expected bounty to finance our efforts to get off this finite fuel source and move to renewable energies for our fuel. And by “we” I mean govt financed and led efforts.

So it’s not drill, baby, drill but rather invest and research, baby, invest and research.