According to the Energy Information Administration, the shale oil boom will account for over 80 percent of the growth in U.S. oil production through 2020 and could effectively eliminate imports of foreign crude if production remains strong.(i) EIA expects U.S. oil production in 2020 to tie the record for the highest domestic oil production ever at 9.6 million barrels a day previously set in 1970. Increasing to 9.6 million barrels a day is almost 50 percent higher than the 6.5 million barrels per day produced in 2012. At those levels, shale oil production will account for about half of the nation's oil output. Further, if the industry can become more productive and develop more resources, the U.S. can eliminate crude imports altogether. To achieve this, improved production techniques, higher well productivity rates, and more resource development in Alaska and offshore are needed, but the latter requires more cooperation from the Federal government than has been the case under the Obama Administration.
