OPEC Survival Uncertain Amid US Oil Output Growth
From Bloomberg
By Asjylyn Loder
A record surge in U.S. oil production that has moved the country closer to energy independence threatens the existence of OPEC, according to analysts at Citigroup Inc.
“OPEC should find it challenging to survive another 60 years, let alone another decade,” analysts led by Ed Morse, global head of commodities research at Citigroup in New York, said in a report released today. “The United States should see its role in the world as a singular superpower enhanced and prolonged.”
U.S. oil production expanded by a record 790,000 barrels a day last year, according to the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Energy Department. A shift toward natural gas as a transportation fuel may further undermine the power of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Morse said in the report titled “Energy 2020: Independence Day.”
Increased output from Canada and Mexico will accelerate a trend toward North American energy independence, according to the report.
