Anew report hails a crucial shift in the global economy. If current trends continue, the United States will surpass Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer by 2020. This development will not only transform the world's energy picture, but geopolitics as well.

A new energy landscape has powerful implications for global political and economic power.

The International Energy Agency (IEA), the top advisory body for the developed economies, notes in its authoritative annual report, "World Energy Outlook," that changing U.S. production and consumption patterns will redraw the global energy map. A surge in U.S. production means that "by around 2020, the United States is projected to become the largest global oil producer."