With technology suppliers, such as drilling rigs for deep sea access, maintaining competitive pricing, the U.S. oil industry is expected to gain substantial export business.
Simultaneously, ports are cropping up around the rim of the Gulf of Mexico to take advantage of alternative demand, especially in Eastern and Central Europe.
This has opened the U.S.-produced West Texas Intermediate crude oil to global penetration — never before even imagined prior to the fracking breakthrough.
After a mediocre fourth-quarter 2015 ending, there are some unexpected flickers of encouragement in the economic arena that may yet turn into a bonfire.
When looking into America’s economic future, a fast-growing world population expected to increase by 50% will likely generate a crude oil demand from 90 million bpd to at least 130 million bpd by 2030.
The speed and the intensity with which the price of global crude oil dropped from $100 a barrel at mid-year 2014 to the low $40s by the end of January 2015 is still befuddling.
Most energy analysts have been surprised by the recent price climb of West Texas Intermediate crude oil to more than $100 per barrel. Since U.S. demand, which reflects the domestically extracted “light crude,” traditionally generates its lowest prices in the winter months, historically annual prices dropped accordingly in 2013, during which prices averaged from the low to middle $90s.