API: Ensure U.S. oil boom continues

A federal U.S. report shows oil production peaking in 2020, a forecast the industry says shows Washington needs to ensure dominance can continue.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in an annual report domestic crude oil production peaks at 10.6 million barrels per day in 2020 and then fades to 9.4 million bpd by 2040. The general increase is greater than the previous year's forecast.

The full-year average production for 2015 is forecast at 9.2 million bpd.

Kyle Isakower, a vice president for economic policy at the American Petroleum Institute, said federal data show the U.S. oil sector is resilient despite a weak crude oil market crimping spending on exploration and production.

"We need more energy -- not less -- especially as natural gas plays a rapidly growing role in America's energy mix and domestic oil production continues to replace imports," he said in a statement. "To meet the demands of a growing economy, policymakers must steer away from duplicative regulations, encourage free trade, and keep public lands open to energy production."

Gains in U.S. oil production have come largely from domestic shale basins in Texas and North Dakota. Seven shale basins, located largely in the central United States, accounted for more than 90 percent of oil production growth from 2011-13, EIA said.

API this week said the industry had measures in place to ensure offshore oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. More oil, meanwhile, may come from Shell's re-sanctioned $5 billion effort to explore the arctic waters off the coast of Alaska.

Dan Ritzman, Alaska program director for the Sierra Club, cautioned there was too much of a rush for new oil.

"The science is clear; progress on climate depends on keeping dirty fuels in the ground, especially in the arctic," he said.