US Bakken tight-oil output to overtake Iraq
Total US unconventional oil production may surpass second- and third-largest Opec members by 2020
Buoyed by prolonged high prices, the trickle of US shale and tight oil production is turning into a flood of new crude supply which could overtake Iraq’s and Iran’s output by 2020. The US’ unconventional oil production could reach 6.6 million barrels a day (b/d) by 2020, according to a Harvard University Belfer Centre report published last month. This compares with Iran’s 3.6 million b/d production in 2011 and Iraq’s 2.7 million b/d, which were the second and third largest Opec producers after Saudi Arabia, Opec data showed. The Belfer Centre report also estimated US shale oil and tight oil to be profitable at a WTI crude oil price of $50-65 a barrel, with Bakken and Three Forks at under $70
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
