This past week news was announced that seems to be overlooked by many in the news media.  According to the International Energy Agency, by 2020, the United States will overtake Saudi Arabia to become the largest crude oil producer in the world.  In fact, this past year the U.S. crude production was the greatest since back in 1991.  As a country, we were able to provide 83% of our energy needs in the first six months of this year from domestic sources.  Much of this increased production is coming from enhanced recovery techniques in shale formations such as those found in North Dakota.  In fact, North Dakota is now the second largest oil producing state in the U.S., trailing only Texas.