US to leapfrog Saudis, Russia as top oil producer

US crude oil output rose above 10m bpd late last year for the first time since the 1970s.

The U.S. is poised to overtake Russia as the world's biggest oil producer by 2019 at the latest, the International Energy Agency predicts, as the country's shale oil boom continues to upend global markets
The latest forecast from the IEA predicts that U.S. output will grow next year to 11.8 million barrels a day, rising to 11.8m bpd in 2019.
U.S. crude oil output rose above 10m bpd late last year for the first time since the 1970s, overtaking top oil exporter Saudi Arabia.

The soaring U.S. production comes at a time when other major producers - including Russia and OPEC members - are withholding output to prop up prices.
The last decade or so has seen a revolution in American energy production, led by techniques including hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and horizontal drilling.
Those innovations - and the breakup of the Soviet Union - helped the U.S. narrow the gap.
President Donald Trump has urged the Saudis to pump more oil to contain rising prices.