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Wonkbook’s Number of the Day: 2020. That’s the year at which U.S. oil production will overtake Saudi Arabia if current rates of production growth hold steady. Currently the world’s second biggest oil producer, the U.S. is rapidly gaining ground: production is on track to surge 7 percent this year, to 10.9 million barrels per day. That’s the biggest one-year gain in more than 60 years.

Top story: America’s energy future

The U.S. may soon be the world’s number-one oil producer. ”U.S. oil output is surging so fast that the United States could soon overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s biggest producer. Driven by high prices and new drilling methods, U.S. production of crude and other liquid hydrocarbons is on track to rise 7 percent this year to an average of 10.9 million barrels per day. This will be the fourth straight year of crude increases and the biggest single-year gain since 1951. The boom has surprised even the experts…The Energy Department forecasts that U.S. production of crude and other liquid hydrocarbons, which includes biofuels, will average 11.4 million barrels per day next year. That would be a record for the U.S. and just below Saudi Arabia’s output of 11.6 million barrels. Citibank forecasts U.S. production could reach 13 million to 15 million barrels per day by 2020, helping to make North America ‘the new Middle East.’” Jonathan Fahey in The Associated Press.

@blakehounshell: Obama has been so terrible for the U.S. oil industry that the United States may soon overtake Saudi Arabia

Cheap natural gas is giving new hope to the Rust Belt. ”Plunging prices have turned the U.S. into one of the most profitable places in the world to make chemicals and fertilizer, industries that use gas as both a feedstock and an energy source. And they have slashed costs for makers of energy-intensive products such as aluminum, steel and glass…Natural gas is only part of the story. The same hydraulic-fracturing revolution that is freeing gas from shale formations is being used to extract oil. U.S. oil production is up 20% since 2008, and the U.S. government expects it to rise another 12.6% in the next five years…Economists at Citigroup Inc. earlier this year estimated that increased domestic oil and gas production, and the activity that flows from it, would create up to 3.6 million new jobs by 2020 and boost annual economic output by between 2% and 3.3%.” Ben Casselman and Russell Gold in The Wall Street Journal.

@mattyglesias: We should worry about America’s dangerous dependence on foreign olive oil.

The production turnaround is pushing down imports, also. ”Five years ago, the U.S. was importing 60% of its oil, a figure that had been rising since the early 1980s. Today, the U.S. imports just over 40% of its oil, the smallest share in 20 years…Economists at HSBC — who have been generally skeptical of claims of an energy-driven industrial rebirth — estimate decreased oil imports could shave $85 billion annually off the U.S. current account deficit within a decade. Other analysts are even more aggressive. There is also another, subtler impact: The less dependent the U.S. is on foreign oil, the less the economy suffers when prices spike.” Ben Casselman and Russell Gold in The Wall Street Journal.

Sen. Wyden is calling for details on natural-gas exports. ”The Democrat slated to lead the Senate’s Energy Committee is pressuring Energy Secretary Steven Chu to describe how the agency will make decisions about whether to approve natural-gas export proposals. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), in a letter Tuesday, asked for an ‘all-inclusive description’ of factors the department will consider as it weighs an array of export applications…Record U.S. natural-gas production is fueling an array of applications to export liquefied natural gas from Oregon, the Gulf Coast and elsewhere; a list of projects under review is here. Wyden has expressed skepticism about the proposals, citing concerns that a surge in exports could raise natural gas costs for manufacturers and other sectors of the economy.” Ben German in The Hill.

As oil and natural gas surge ahead, clean energy is figuring out its next move. ”[T]he stimulus money is almost all gone, leaving many of these projects without a government benefactor and making them orphans in a competitive marketplace dominated by the deep-pocketed fossil fuel industries What happens now?…In recent months a discussion of imposing a carbon tax has been percolating in Washington as part of a broader tax reform and deficit reduction plan…There is also a growing discussion of how to attract more private capital to the clean technology sector. Some economists and green tech entrepreneurs have advocated a change in federal tax law to allow renewable energy companies to use a tax-advantaged investment device known as a master limited partnership, which has attracted $350 billion in private investment but is limited to oil and gas extraction and pipeline projects. Another proposal is to allow real estate investment trusts, which are like mutual funds for real estate, to cover energy transmission networks and renewable energy generation.” John Broder in The New York Times.