US oil production to rise through 2020, feds predict

Federal forecasters predict that domestic oil production will still grow through 2020 despite the plunge in prices.

Crude production will peak at an average of 10.6 million barrels a day in 2020, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Tuesday in its Annual Energy Outlook.

{mosads}That figure is higher than last year’s prediction, even though oil prices have dropped by half since that forecast came out.

Oil output will then fall slightly to 9.4 million barrels a day in 2040, which is 26 percent higher than last year’s outlook.

The bulk of the production increases will come from onshore drilling, analysts said in the report.

Onshore output will reach 5.6 million barrels a day in 2020, 34 percent higher than what EIA said in the last report.

“Producers continue to locate and target the sweet spots of plays currently under development,” EIA said.

Oil imports will also fall as production grows, EIA said. On a net basis, the United States will import only 14 percent of its oil in 2020, down from 26 percent last year.