Here’s how the US could be energy self-sufficient by 2020
The US has the potential to become energy self-sufficient by the end of the decade, according to the head of Exxon Mobil.
Rex Tillerson, chairman & CEO of Exxon Mobil, told CNBC that US energy self-sufficiency had become "a realistic aspiration."
Tillerson pointed to the fact that the US was already the world's largest natural gas producer and was generating levels of crude oil production not seen since the 1980s.
2013 saw US crude production reach a 25 year high as shale gas slashed the need for foreign oil imports. America is already on track to be the world's largest energy producer by 2015, according to the Energy Information Agency (EIA).
The first eight months of last year saw the US meet 86 per cent of its energy need. In December, an International Energy Agency (IEA) report called America's shale energy revolution a "game changer."
North America will lead medium-term supply growth while the report forecasts that the East-of-Suez region will be leading on the demand side. Non-OECD demand is also set to overtake OECD demand for the first time.
Non-OECD countries already make up half of refining capacity which is set to only expand further in the coming years.
Commenting on the broader US economy Tillerson voiced his support for the decision of the Federal Reserve to begin tapering.