With the United States on its way to displace Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer by the year 2020, Consumer Energy Alliance President David Holt argues in The Washington Times that energy is giving the United States new heft in global politics:
There is an energy revolution under way in the United States. Booming oil and natural gas production is transforming our economic outlook, ushering newfound wealth to our rural areas and providing high-paying jobs for middle-class workers across the country. This revolution is largely responsible for the resurrection of entire industries — like steel and manufacturing — that once defined our national character. While this is good news, it may be just the beginning, as this resurgence could reshape the geopolitical world.
Many credible experts agree. For example, according to the International Energy Agency, the global energy map “is being redrawn by the resurgence in oil and gas production in the United States.” The report also notes that by 2020, the United States will displace Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer.
The energy agency also projects by 2035 the United States may reach self-sufficiency in terms of oil production. In other words, as Consumer Energy Alliance noted last year, we may meet our energy needs within our lifetimes. The last time that happened was before the end of World War II, when exhausted domestic supplies and growing demand required the United States to secure oil from outside its borders for the first time.
What geopolitical ramifications could all of this bring?
