Continental contrasts
Oil and gas production in North America is continuing its rising trend. Mexico's prospects are looking up, while Venezuela's hydrocarbon sector is collapsing
North American liquid hydrocarbons output hit 20.1m barrels a day in 2017, as production from the US and Canada offset a decline in Mexico, according to the latest BP Statistical Review of World Energy. US oil output is expected to continue to rise. The US Energy Information Administration expects oil production to grow by 1.4m b/d this year, and another 1m b/d in 2019. It also suggests natural gas output will increase by 10%, to 81.2bn cubic feet a day. As such, the US looks set to remain the world's largest oil and gas producer in 2018. Such production growth is presenting challenges to the US and its neighbours in the Americas. On the domestic front, new infrastructure is urgently needed
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