The U.S. is now the world's largest producer of oil, surpassing Russia and Saudi Arabia, according to Bank of America Corp. (BAC), as reported in Bloomberg.
U.S. crude oil output in the first quarter surpassed 11-million b/d, which was the highest volume produced by the country in 24 years. The U.S. is expected to hold the top spot through the end of the year, BAC officials said.
Most of that production is coming from North Dakota and Texas, which produced nearly half (48%) of all U.S. oil in April of 2014, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Recently, the state of North Dakota hit the 1-million b/d mark for oil, nearly tripling its production over a three year period. The increase in production is directly related to the development of the Bakken Shale. Since April of 2011, production from the Bakken increased 19,000 b/d on average each month, according to the EIA.
Read more: North Dakota & Texas Make Up Half of U.S. Oil Production
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), U.S. oil output will increase to 13.1 million b/d in 2019 and plateau. Most analysts agree the Bakken and Eagle Ford Shale plays, which are largely responsible for production in Texas and North Dakota, will peak around this time, and begin to decline.