U.S. crude oil production will approach a record by 2016, climbing to the highest level in 46 years as rising output from shale formations lifts domestic supplies, reducing the nation’s need for foreign oil. Domestic output will grow annually by about 800,000 barrels a day to 9.5 million in 2016, nearing the record level of 1970, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook for 2014. Natural gas production will grow 56 percent to 37.6 trillion cubic feet by 2040, boosting liquefied natural gas exports to 3.5 trillion, the EIA said today. “The production growth we’ve seen is exceeding what anyone would’ve predicted a few years ago,” John Auers , senior vice president of Tuner Mason & Co., a consulting firm in Dallas , said by phone today. “It’s surprised everyone. We’ll be reaching even higher production very quickly because of breakthroughs in technology.” U.S. oil production […]