Continuously rising U.S. shale production will make the United States a net exporter of crude oil and petroleum products in the fourth quarter of 2020, the EIA said in its January Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), which offered a first glimpse into the administration’s forecasts for 2020. The EIA has estimated that U.S. crude oil production averaged 10.9 million bpd in 2018, rising by 1.6 million bpd from 2017 and reaching its highest level and seeing its largest volume growth on record. This year, America’s crude oil production is expected to average 12.1 million bpd in 2019, while crude production in 2020 is seen averaging 12.9 million bpd, with most of the growth coming from the Permian. “If the domestic and global forecasts are realized, crude oil production at these levels would allow the United States to maintain its status as the world’s leading crude oil producer in both years,” […]