Hard to credit that the U.S. would ever export so much petroleum, with net imports declining fast. I'm not sure about the claim that the U.S. "has surpassed Saudi Arabia in both recoverable oil reserves and total hydrocarbon production". Saudi Arabia is still #2 on some lists of proven reserves, well ahead of the U.S. The Perfect Oil Field is a good look at an exceedingly productive middle eastern oil field.
The tinfoil hatter in me would argue that from a PNAC/Club for Growth/Bilderberg standpoint, flooding the market with cheap oil retards alternative energy development amongst the developing world while simultaneously depressing the economic power of global competitors. Not a fan of the Iraq War but from a Machiavellian standpoint, that instability and those refugees aren't spilling over our borders.Hard to credit that the U.S. would ever export so much petroleum, with net imports declining fast.
Obviously I'm no expert here, but I assume it's quibbling over the definition of "recoverable". Of course recoverable oil depends highly on the price. I remember reading a couple years ago that Saudi was intentional flooding the market with an eye toward driving shale production out of business. Guess that didn't work out for them (who could have guessed?).
Yeah that fucked Saudi Arabia, Russia and Venezuela. Meanwhile, shale oil extraction is a lot less stationary; you can turn the rigs off, let 'em sit, liquidate 'em, refurbish 'em and deploy 'em at a whole new shale field when the price is high enough again.