Oil Productiion

From Dr. Ed Yardeni's Blog:

While Washington is mired in gridlock, the High-Tech Revolution, which started in the early 1990s, is evolving into a New Industrial Revolution. Innovations produced by the IT industry are revolutionizing lots of other ones including manufacturing, energy, transportation, health care, and education. 

High-tech tools certainly have contributed to the extraordinary productivity of the US energy industry. Gushers in the oil patch could more than offset gridlock inside the Beltway. In just the past two years, US crude oil field production is up 40% from 5.8mbd to 8.1mbd through the week of September 20. That’s the highest since October 1988. US exports of petroleum products rose to a record 3.3mbd. Net imports are down to 6.5mbd, half as much as at the record peak during 2005. 

America isn’t on the brink of energy independence, but it is heading in that direction at a faster pace. The Naysayers say it won’t happen because much of the surge in production is attributable to fracking of old oil wells that deplete in a few months after they are tapped for a second time. Maybe so, but let’s not underestimate the ability of entrepreneurs to use both high-tech and low-tech to boost oil production. 

Link:  Dr. Ed Yardeni: Oil Production.

*Long ETFs that invest in oil producers and production.