TIME: The U.S. Is an Energy Superpower

A new item by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) confirms what we’ve been reporting for a while now: the U.S. is an energy superpower. The EIA predicts that in 2013, the U.S. will be the world’s top producer of petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbons, surpassing Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Not every hydrocarbon is equal—the U.S. produces about the same amount of natural gas as it does petroleum, at least in terms of the BTUs of energy those fuels can produce. Saudi Arabia, by contrast, produces nearly all petroleum—and with oil running north of $100 a barrel and tradable around the world, Saudi Arabia’s oil is more valuable than America’s gas, which can’t easily be exported.  MORE