(VOVworld) – The US has taken Russia’s crown as the world’s largest oil and gas producer, according to BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy released on Wednesday.

Four pump jacks are silhouetted as they operate at the site of an oil well outside Williston, North Dakota, US, February 12, 2015. (Photo: Bloomberg)

Speaking at an energy conference in Washington, BP Chief Economist Spencer Dale said the world is witnessing a changing of the guard of global energy suppliers and that the implications of the shale revolution for the US are profound. US oil production rose to a record last year to 1.6 million barrels a day.