World Energy Outlook: The IEA’s winners and losers

The US will overtake leading producers within the next five years, says WEO

The US will by 2017 overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s biggest oil producer and, even sooner, surpass Russia in natural gas output. That was the headline-grabber today as the International Energy Agency (IEA) released its World Energy Outlook 2012, a dossier of energy trends for the next 23 years. As befits a 668-page dossier, though, there are devils aplenty in the details. Global energy trade patterns are undergoing a major shift – and not everyone will benefit from them. Taking the IEA’s forecasts at face value, here is Petroleum Economist’s breakdown of who wins and who loses if the world’s energy evolves as the agency expects. Winners Market principles Countries can find their own ene