Will The US Overtake Russia As The World's Top Oil Producer?

The growing production of US oil

- Katie Mcbeth

Imagine coming across a headline that stated “VHS tapes are making a comeback!” You might feel a bit surprised and confused: haven’t we grown past this? Aren’t there better solutions out there for media consumption now?

As our world and technology continues to evolve and change year over year, the last thing you might expect is to hear that traditional technology or power sources are seeing a new revolution. Although VHS tapes might not be making a comeback (apologies to all the collectors out there), there is an equally surprising event happening in the power sector.

Shale reserves and petroleum oil production is seeing the dawn of a new day. Despite aging oil fields, national reports from the 2017 production year showed that U.S. oil production is higher than ever before. Even 40-year veterans in the field are surprised by the results, with CEO of British Petroleum (BP), Robert Dudley, stating: “I cannot remember ever in my career having seen a negative decline rate.”

What does this mean for U.S. oil production? Will this affect other means of energy production, such as renewable energy? Although there are many potential effects this news might have on the world, the biggest effect might possibly be in the economic shifts for oil across the globe.

THE BP REPORT

Over the past few years, BP has seen a steady decline in production from the majority of their older oil wells, and drilling new sites has become increasingly rare. New drill sites often provide the best results, while older wells are expected to eventually run dry.