The U.S. is becoming less and less dependent on imported energy because of the shale revolution, CNN reports.
But consumers will have to pay significantly more for oil than they are now for the U.S. to reach anything close to independence, CNN said:
"... the shale oil and gas revolution of the last couple of decades has made the improbable goal of American energy independence close to reality. Analysts at Raymond James recently predicted the U.S. will be 'tantalizingly close' by 2020, as long as oil prices and domestic production rebound.
" ...if shale production accelerates, thanks in part to more rapid technological improvements, the EIA projects the U.S. would become a 'net petroleum exporter by 2024.' If oil prices rise sharply, surpassing $100 a barrel in the next few years, the EIA thinks the U.S. could achieve complete energy independence by 2022"
Read the full story here.