For the first time in 18 years, the U.S.' crude oil production has exceeded the number of its imports, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.

Oil rig pumpjacks, also known as thirsty birds, extract crude from the Wilmington Field oil deposits area where Tidelands Oil Production Company, which is owned by Occidental Petroleum Corporation operates near Long Beach, California in this July 30, 2013 file photo. Forty years after an Arab oil embargo throttled the U.S. economy, surging North American energy production has brought the United States closer to a long-dreamed "energy independence" and adjustments to its role in the Middle East. REUTERS/David McNew/Files

In October, for the first month since February 1995, domestic crude oil production reached 7.7 million barrels a day, translating a 24-year high, spurred by production from newly-tapped shale-based reserves.

Imports of crude oil meantime slipped 5 per cent to 7.6 million barrels a day, according to the EIA.

"It's something we've been forecasting since earlier this year," Tancred Lidderdale, an economist with Washington-based EIA, said. "Crude-oil production from shale-oil has been steadily growing over the last few years and it's expected to continue to grow."

"This milestone is a result of both increased production and administration policies, like increased fuel economy standards, that cut oil consumption, cut carbon pollution and cut consumer bills," White House spokesman Jay Carney told AFP.

"Domestic oil and natural gas production is only on the rise, thanks to development on state and private lands," Kyle Isakower of the American Petroleum Institute said in a statement.

The U.S. crude oil output is forecast to reach 7.5 million barrels a day in 2013, up by 15.2 per cent, 990,000 barrels a day, from a year ago. The amount is seen to parallel with that of the foreseen imports.

By 2014, output is projected to hit 1 million barrels to 8.5 million barrels a day, a 13.4 per cent rise. Ultimately, this would slash the need to import oil to 6.5 million barrels a day.

Consequently, prices of U.S. retail gasoline will average $3.50 a gallon in 2013. Last month's estimate was $3.52, while forecast for 2014 was $3.39.

"The EIA expects that falling crude oil prices and a well-supplied gasoline market will help drive U.S. retail gasoline prices down further for the remainder of the year," Adam Sieminski, administrator of the EIA, said in a statement.