America defeats Russia and Saudi Arabia is the leading oil producer

Move to Russia and Saudi Arabia. America has resumed its throne at the top of the oil world.

According to early estimates released Wednesday by the Department of Energy, the United States is the world's largest producer of crude oil for the first time since 1973.

This feat demonstrates how the shale oil boom in the United States has transformed the global energy landscape. US oil production has more than doubled in the last decade.

"It's a historic step and a reminder: Never bet against the American oil industry," said Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group, a consulting firm.

Texas is the epicenter of the shale boom. Production in the Permian Basin of West Texas so increased that in February, the United States beat Saudi Arabia for the first time in more than two decades, according to the US Energy Information Administration .

US production continued to increase in June and August, reaching nearly 11 million barrels a day. This pushed the United States to Russia for the first time since February 1999, says the EIA.

The United States should not give up their crown anytime soon. EIA expects US oil production to outstrip Russia and Saudi Arabia until 2019.

"Changed the game"

This achievement underscores the profound impact of rapid technological advances in drilling. Fracking has unlocked vast quantities of oil and natural gas trapped underground. Drilling costs have dropped considerably.

"It changed the game for the United States, which meant we could be resilient and competitive," said Ben Cook, a portfolio manager at BP Capital Fund Advisors, an investment management firm.

This resilience was needed after the collapse of oil prices in late 2014. OPEC has launched a price war to regain market share lost in the United States and other oil producers. Falling prices led to the demise of dozens of US oil companies and resulted in widespread job losses.

Oil production in the United States has declined – but not as dramatically as feared. And when prices began to rebound in 2016, American shale companies were able to accelerate production. Their expenses were lower – and the technology had improved.

Another important change: America now has oil customers around the world. In late 2015, Congress lifted the 40-year ban on crude oil exports. The United States is now shipping oil to South America, Europe and China.

Texas is an oil superpower

Major oil producers, including BP (BP) and ExxonMobil (XOM) In recent years, they have spent billions of dollars to get some of the action in the Permian Basin.

The state of Lone Star is about to produce more oil than Iran or Iraq. That would make Texas the third in the world if it was a country. And the largest port district of the state has recently exported more crude oil than it imported.

"It's about technological breakthroughs, backed by enough capital to invest and the ingenuity of American oil drillers," said McNally, a former energy chief of President George W Bush.

Always dependent on foreign oil

Now, Texas is trying to handle the boom. There has been such a gold rush mentality in the Permian Basin that the region is quickly running out of pipelines, workers and supplies.

In any case, the Permian has been a victim of its own success. Production should continue to increase, but not as much as expected.

Concerns about the Permian led the EIA to lower its growth forecast for US oil production in 2019 to 11.5 million barrels per day. For the context, this still represents strong growth and is expected to reach the expected output of Russia and Saudi Arabia. The United States produced 9.4 million barrels a day in 2017.

The shale boom has important security implications. Today, the United States is less dependent on foreign oil, including the turbulent Middle East.

However, the oil market remains a global market and the changes in strategy of OPEC and Saudi Arabia continue to have a significant influence on prices.

And the United States can not satisfy its voracious appetite for oil by looking only indoors. US oil refineries, most of which were built decades ago, still require high doses of foreign oil.

CNNMoney (New York) First published on September 12, 2018: 2:29 pm ET