HOUSTON, March 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. monthly crude oil production is expected to exceed imports later this year for the first time since February 1995, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.
The gap between monthly U.S. crude oil production and imports is projected to be almost 2 million barrels per day (bbl/d) by the end of next year, according to the EIA's March 2013 Short-Term Energy Outlook.
The agency also expects the country's monthly crude oil production to top 8 million bbl/d in the fourth quarter of 2014, which would be the highest level since 1988.
Meanwhile, it said that U.S. net crude oil imports are expected to fall below 7 million bbl/d in the fourth quarter of 2014 for the first time since 1995.
The agency attributed the projected change largely to rising domestic crude oil production, particularly from shale and other tight rock formations in North Dakota and Texas.
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