US said close to energy independence: Analyst

Sep 12, 2012 | 01:24 PM | Michael Cowden

Tags  MSCI, economic forecast conference, energy independence, Ruchir Kadakia, IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates, il, natural gas, drilling pipelines

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — The United States might be within reach of energy independence as record oil prices could be encouraging overproduction, according to one energy analyst.

Energy independence "has been talked about by every (U.S.) president for six decades, and now we’re within spitting distance of it," said Ruchir Kadakia, director of global oil fundamentals for IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates. "All you need is a minor push, and we could be energy-independent" within the next decade.

That possibility comes in part thanks to growing production from shale plays that contain oil—such as the Bakken in North Dakota and the Niobrara, which underlies several Western states—and increased offshore drilling, Kadakia said during a presentation at the Metals Service Center Institute’s Economic Summit: Forecast 2013 in Schaumburg, Ill.....