The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast Thursday that America will become a net exporter of energy next year as the country ramps up its oil production in the coming years.
EIA officials anticipate the country will produce more than 14 million barrels of crude oil through 2040 while setting annual records of production at least through the mid-2020s, according to the agency's new annual energy report. By contrast, America imported a little over 10 million barrels of petroleum a day and exported roughly 6.3 million per day in 2017, according to the EIA.
"The United States has become the largest producer of crude oil in the world, and growth in domestic oil, natural gas, and renewable energy production is quickly establishing the United States as a strong global energy producer for the foreseeable future," EIA Administrator Linda Capuano said in a news release unveiling the study.
The agency expects U.S. natural-gas production and exports to also increase even as domestic consumption remains steady because of increased energy efficiency across different U.S. sectors. Consistently low prices for U.S. natgas will drive the demand for the product overseas, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the EIA expects U.S. renewable energy from solar and wind production to dramatically increase in the next decade, supplanting nuclear power and coal as the main contributors to U.S. power generation. The agency predicts that the share of U.S. electricity generated from coal will decrease to 17% in 2050 from 28% in 2018, while nuclear power will drop to 12% of total American power consumption by 2050 from 19% last year.