TOKYO/NEW YORK -- Last year was a watershed in global energy markets, with the U.S. estimated to have overtaken Russia and Saudi Arabia to become the world's largest crude oil producer for the first time in 45 years.
U.S. crude oil output has more than doubled in the past decade, led by shale oil, and exports to Asian nations are also rising. Asia has up to now relied heavily on the Middle East for its oil, but growing imports from the U.S. could profoundly alter energy geopolitics.
