In addition to being one of the largest oil producers for decades, it has also been the largest oil consumer. Therefore it has not been in the US's interest to join OPEC. The US would prefer lower oil prices. There's no reason to expect this will change if the US moves from number 2 or 3 producer to number 1.
Something for everybody to keep in mind: The US is a huge IMPORTER of crude oil, but a net EXPORTER of refined petroleum products! The amount of crude we make will have an impact on petroleum prices, but not as large as one would think.
Oil's a bit like diamonds. It's artificial scarcity in the US to keep the price high.
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[ 2.7 ms ] story [ 18.5 ms ] threadThe US has been the second or third largest oil producer for decades, well ahead of all other OPEC countries except Saudi Arabia. See: http://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=oil_where
In addition to being one of the largest oil producers for decades, it has also been the largest oil consumer. Therefore it has not been in the US's interest to join OPEC. The US would prefer lower oil prices. There's no reason to expect this will change if the US moves from number 2 or 3 producer to number 1.
Oil's a bit like diamonds. It's artificial scarcity in the US to keep the price high.