The fundamental patterns of international petroleum trade are undergoing dramatic change. Although the US has traditionally been viewed as the world’s largest consumer of petroleum products, it may not be importing petroleum from distant shores much longer. According to a report from the International Energy Agency, because of new extraction technology, by 2020 the US will be a net exporter of natural gas, and by 2035 it could be exporting oil as well.
Jeffrey Simpson, writing in the Toronto Globe and Mail identified two major changes that are likely to flow from this: “First, for the first time since president Franklin D. Roosevelt made cozy with the Saud dynasty, the United States will not need, let alone be beholden to, oil-producing countries in the Middle East. Second, the international target of holding the increase in global temperatures to two degrees Celsius is a forlorn hope.”
"Crude oil and natural gas production in North America is booming, contributing to a massive reshaping of the global energy landscape," writes Denise O’Donovan in ZE Datawatch. Her analysis was titled: "The Revival of Western Oil and Gas Production – It Only Changes Everything."
In the longer term it appears that both Canada and the US are likely to be net suppliers of oil to Asia.
To access a copy of the IEA report, log on to http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/.