US oil expected to meet most of world's growth in demand

A global energy watchdog says booming production in the United States will meet 80 percent global growth in demand for oil over the next five years. The International Energy Agency believes slow growth from OPEC will be offset by oilfields in the U.S. The group, based in Paris, issued its annual oil market report on Monday. The resurgence in U.S. production is the most prominent change since the group's last forecast. The retreat by oil producers during an oil-price plunge between 2014 and 2016, however, continues to raise the specter that not enough money has been spent on exploration, which can result in shortages and price spikes. The IEA predicts that within five years, the cushion of production capacity over expected demand will fall to its lowest level since 2007. That was the year that the price for oil in the U.S. surged close to $150. Prices are less than half that today...more