The United States' combined output of 28 percent in natural gas and petrol production last year has made it the world's biggest producer of these precious commodities, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Tuesday.
It was late last year that the EIA disclosed the United States had overrun oil-rich country Saudi Arabia to emerging as the biggest producer of petrol in the world, pointing out that the US aggressive rise in oil and gas production is "one of the largest absolute production increases from a single nation in history." The US had already beaten Russia as the globe's largest natural gas producer in 2011.
Export of crude oil accounts for more than 60 percent of Saudi Arabia's gross economic production. China, South Korea, Japan, and the US remain as big-ticket markets for these countries' petroleum exports.
While the Oil Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has imposed some limitations on Saudi Arabia's capacity to produce oil and gas, the US has broken from the pack during the last two years and propped up its output, backed by the higher prices as included in the OPEC agreement.
The US' crude oil output was up 18 percent in the final quarter last year, registering a new production record of nearly 11.0 million barrels per day, the EIA disclosed. However, the country's shale production decelerated in the first quarter this year in the midst of lower global prices as refineries go slow on budgets and operations due to investor clamor for bigger returns.
As this developed, oil bounced back to settle above $56 per barrel as investors braced for a key government audit of US supplies. Futures were down by 1.8 percent late Tuesday during a shaky trade. Oil was up prior to the close amid Wall Street projections that crude stockpiles last week dropped for the first time in as many weeks.
According to commodities and market strategist Pavel Molcanov, the markets recent swing "is a normal intraday volatility." He added that sparking the irregularities were anticipations on the Department of Energy's geopolitical news, weekly supplies report slated Wednesday and the movement of funds in the futures market.
US dry natural gas output was up 12 percent to 28.6 billion cubic feet per day last year, notching a record high for two consecutive years. The current advancement in exports of liquefied natural gas and the upgraded capability to penetrate new markets have jacked up growth in America's natural gas stockpiles.
