Washington, Jan 24 (IANS) US oil and natural gas production is expected to increase substantially, according to estimates reported Monday.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued the Annual Energy Outlook early release Monday, which expected domestic oil and natural gas production to increase substantially, reported Xinhua.

The full report of Annual Energy Outlook will be released April 26, 2012.

US domestic crude oil production has increased from 5.1 million barrels per day in 2007 to 5.5 million barrels per day in 2010, and is estimated to reach 6.7 million barrels per day in 2020, the highest level since 1994, said the report.

Shale gas production is expected to be the driving force behind increased natural gas production, increasing from 5.0 trillion cubic feet in 2010 to 13.6 trillion cubic feet in 2035, accounting for nearly half of all domestic natural gas production.

The momentum will help the US become an overall net exporter of natural gas in 2021, projected the report.

Although oil and natural gas production is expected to increase, the growth of energy use show signs of flagging. The demand of electricity, which consumes 40.3 percent of energy, is expected to grow by 0.8 percent per year from 2010 to 2035, and that of transportation, 28.1 percent, is expected to grow by only 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the increasing energy efficiency will also help decrease energy consumption per capita by an average of 0.5 percent per year, added the report.

“As a result of moderate demand growth, increased efficiency, growing domestic production, and the use of bio-fuels and other non-petroleum fuels, we expect net petroleum imports to drop to 36 percent in 2035, from a high of 60 percent in 2005,” said Howard Grenspecht, EIA’s acting administrator.