India, China to Drive Global Energy Markets, USA Energy Independent by 2035

China and India are increasingly driving world energy demand as the United States' production boom puts it on track to become independent of the global market, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday.

China is close to becoming the world's largest oil importer, while India will turn into the leading importer of coal in the next decade to lead the Asian surge, the Paris-based IEA said in its 2013 World Energy Outlook.

"The dominance of Asia will be more and more visible," IEA executive director Maria van der Hoeven told The Associated Press. "Asia will be the clear center of the global energy trade."

While per capita energy consumption will not be as high in Asia as in North America and Europe, "the demand and the thirst for energy (in Asia) in all its forms will be tremendous."

At the same time, the United States is moving toward "meeting all of its energy needs from domestic resources by 2035," the IEA said.

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