The United States is just years away from ending decades of being a net energy importer, the Energy Department’s statistics arm said Wednesday.
Exports could align with imports between 2020 and 2030, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its compendium of forward-looking projections, the Annual Energy Outlook. The development reflects increases in oil and natural gas development along with boosts to energy efficiency and renewable energy.
The U.S. has been a net energy importer since the 1950s. But the boom in U.S. hydrocarbon production unleashed by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has turned the nation into a major exporter of petroleum products such as gasoline. And while U.S. coal consumption has declined because of competition from cheap natural gas and environmental regulations, the country is still a major exporter of coal.
When the U.S. would shift to a net exporter depends largely on commodity prices. The reference case showed the U.S. accomplishing that goal in 2028, but with low oil prices, the Energy Information Administration said the U.S. would remain a net importer through 2040.
Projections show the U.S. transitioning from a net importer of natural gas to a net exporter in 2017. The Energy Department has approved a number of natural gas export projects in the past two years, but industry groups, Republicans and some Democrats argue the federal process has been too slow.
Critics of the Obama administration argue a near-ban on crude oil exports and restrictions on shipping natural gas to nations that lack a free-trade agreement with the U.S. have stymied energy exports. But skeptics of loosening oil export policies note the U.S. still imports roughly one-third of the oil it consumes daily and worry that sending natural gas overseas could raise domestic prices.
