Will OPEC Dissolve by 2040?

Since peaking in 2005, U.S. oil imports have fallen according to Outlook for Energy from ExxonMobil. This could be a sign that US dependence on foreign oil could dwindle by 2040. By then, ExxonMobil expects most of the oil to come from U.S. natural gas production, Canada and Mexico.

Key points from ExxonMobil's 2012 Outlook for Energy:

• 30 percent of global gas production by 2040 will be gas from shale and unconventional sources.
• 90 percent of global energy will come from natural gas, oil and coal by 2040.
• Compared to 2010, global energy demand will climb 30 percent by 2040.
• By 2025, coal will peak and then fall off.

U.S. dependency on oil won't drop in the next few decades, but ExxonMobil says demand for petroleum-based gasoline should peak by 2015. The oil and gas company believes that cars running on conventional gas will drop from 95 to 90 percent by 2040. According to the outlook, one-third of all cars will by hybrid by 2040 pulling in an average of 44 miles per gallon in the U.S., 50 in India and China and 60 in Europe.

Read Outlook for Energy from ExxonMobil.

Do you think this report is on target? Will the U.S. depend less on foreign oil