U.S. crude oil production will keep setting annual records until 2027 and will remain higher than 14 million bpd through 2040, thanks to continuously growing shale production, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Thursday in its Annual Energy Outlook 2019 with projections to 2050. The EIA issued forecasts for the next three decades based on a reference case and six side cases that include different assumptions about energy prices, economic activity, and technology and resource estimates. “The United States has been a net energy importer since 1953, but continued growth in petroleum and natural gas exports results in the United States becoming a net energy exporter by 2020 in all cases,” the EIA said. In the Reference case, the U.S. is expected to become a net exporter of petroleum liquids after 2020 as domestic crude oil production grows and domestic consumption of petroleum products declines. “Near the […]