Take THAT Putin! Texas Passes Iraq and Iran In Oil Production

In oil, the State of Texas is kicking ass.

Production is up so much that now the Lone Star State stands alone as a global oil superpower.

This is thanks in large part to the shale oil boom, which has brought a “Gold Rush Mentality,” CNN reports.

Drilling costs have gone down and oil prices keep climbing. There has been an explosion of production in West Texas too. It’s pulling oil out of the ground so fast that by next year, they will surpass Iran and Iraq in production.

In fact, if it were a country all by itself, Texas would be the third biggest oil producer, only behind Russia and Saudi Arabia.

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“It’s remarkable. The Permian is nothing less than a blessing for the global economy,” Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group, a consulting firm, told CNN.

And if there’s anything that makes Russia unhappy, it’s when America increases its energy production.

America produces 14.5 million barrels per day of oil, standing on top of the pile. Texas alone accounts for more than one third of that production. And it will keep rising.

Second is Saudi Arabia, with 12 million barrels per day and Russia at 11 million barrels.

Much of the excitement in Texas centers around the Permian Basin. Some oil execs believe the amount of oil in the Permian rivals Saudi Arabia’s Ghawar Field, the world’s largest conventional oilfield.

Rapid technological advances have dramatically brought down the cost of pumping oil everywhere, especially out of the Permian. Wells there can be profitable below $40 a barrel.

“The industry cracked the code on fracking,” said McNally.

All that domestic oil production means less reliance on unfriendly countries and perhaps a more stable world.

“It’s not going to make the world peaceful, but it will make it less volatile,” said McNally, a former White House official.

Scott Sheffield, the chairman of major Permian player Pioneer Natural Resources, told CNNMoney last month that the United States will become the world’s biggest oil producer by the fall.

The combined output of the Permian and Eagle Ford is expected to rise from just 2.5 million barrels per day in 2014 to 5.6 million barrels per day in 2019, according to HSBC. That means Texas will account for more than half of America’s total oil production.

By comparison, Iraq’s daily production is seen at about 4.8 million barrels, while Iran is projected to pump 3 million. Oil supplies from Iran are likely to plunge due to tough sanctions from the United States.