Natural Gas the "New Kingmaker"

The Wall Street Journal took a page from Boone Pickens’ notebook when it reported that “America’s shale oil and gas revolution … is shaking up the world order.” John Bussey, reporting in the Journal‘s Marketplace section, singled out the massive changes that have taken place since the U.S. began developing its enormous shale resources.

The U.S. is already getting a lift. In 2005, it imported 60% of its oil. That’s down to roughly 42% now. The losers: the Middle East, Africa and Venezuela, sometimes unpredictable suppliers that over the years brought us oil shocks and price spikes. Though the oil market is global and an oil-field strike abroad can still raise prices here, America’s vulnerability to shaky regimes and despots is declining.

Another key development? The effects of these domestic resources on U.S. defense policy. One of the questions that Bussey brings up is whether or not the U.S. will continue to spend billions to defend Saudi Arabia. As Boone Pickens has repeatedly pointed out, America’s addiction to OPEC oil has cost America billions of dollars and the lives of thousands of soldiers.

Read Shale: A New Kingmaker in Energy Geopolitics HERE.