How America Caught up With the Top Oil Producers

The market might of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) dwindled in recent year. Led by Saudi Arabia, the OPEC has been cooperating with major exporter Russia to try and keep the oil market price stable. The United States and its increase in production is very probably one cause for concern at OPEC, based in Vienna, Austria.

One reasons for America's oil ascent, depicted in the chart below, is the exploitation of so-called tight oil, of which shale oil is the most prominent source. According to data released by BP, the United States produced around 12.4 million barrels of oil a day in 2016. This includes crude oil, shale oil, oil sands and natural gas liquids (NGL), the liquid content of natural gas, where this is recovered separately. Liquid fuels from other sources such as biomass and derivatives of coal and natural gas are excluded ´