IRVINE, Texas, March 14 (UPI) -- Oil and natural gas production from North America should increase about 40 percent from 2010 levels within 30 years, reports Exxon Mobil.
Exxon, which has headquarters in Texas, said the North American energy boom is such that the region may be a net exporter within the next decade, Bloomberg News reports.
Exxon said consumption is leveling off and should drop around 5 percent from 2010 to 2040. Asian economies, as they continue growing, are expected to use imports to meet 40 percent of their energy demands by 2040.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, in its March report, said world oil demand growth for 2013 stayed at 800,000 bpd. Any growth in demand, the cartel said, would likely come from China.
Exxon's report adds that oil and liquid fuels production from North America should increase 40 percent from 2010 to 2040 "after decades of relatively flat production."
OPEC said most of the production growth from non members would from so-called tight oil developments in U.S. states like North Dakota.
"The strong growth achieved from tight oil developments in 2012 is seen slowing in 2013, mainly due to the high decline rates which require continued drilling to maintain a steady output and further drilling to achieve growth," OPEC said.
