The boom in U.S. oil and natural gas production will make the United States a net energy exporter in 2020, according to the Department of Energy’s Annual Energy Outlook report. It would be the first time the country achieved such energy independence in nearly 70 years.
The report, which makes projections for the next 50 years, projected the United States will start exporting more energy products than it imports as U.S. crude output continues to grow and domestic oil consumption declines. Growing shipments of natural gas and petroleum byproducts also will boost the country’s role as a major energy exporter.
In 2018, EIA forecasted the United States would become a net exporter by 2022. In 2017, it said the nation would achieve the status in 2026.
