TOTAL S.A. (ADR) (TOT), Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (RDS.A): This Company Singlehandedly Produced More Oil Than the Entire U.S.

In North Dakota’s Bakken shale, for instance, Continental Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CLR), the leading producer in the play, reported 58% production growth last year, while Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp (USA) (NYSE:KOG), a smaller operator that also has a major presence in the play, said production nearly tripled from 2011 to 2012.

As these and other oil companies continue to lower costs by making their operations more efficient, US oil output should continue to grow (as long as oil prices stay relatively high and stable), albeit probably not as sharply as it has in the past two or three years.

And though I’m skeptical about claims that U.S. oil production could surpass that of Saudi Arabia’s by 2020 — mainly because of technical qualms about how exactly one classifies ‘oil’ — it’s hard to foresee a near- to medium-term future where the U.S. doesn’t command a leading position in the global energy landscape.

The article This Company Singlehandedly Produced More Oil Than the Entire U.S. originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Arjun Sreekumar.

Fool contributor Arjun Sreekumar has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends TOTAL S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TOT).

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