The “shale revolution” has provided the United States with a bountiful domestic supply of oil. But extracting oil from shale is a highly technical process, and it is also dependent on specific geological formations.
Straight Arrow News contributor Peter Zeihan tackles the question of whether or not other nations might be able to replicate the success of the American shale revolution, how they might accomplish that, and what barriers they might encounter along the way.
Below is an excerpt from Peter’s April 24 “Zeihan on Geopolitics” newsletter:
Energy independence has been a global priority over the past few decades, but not all of that black gold is created equal. The U.S. has been able to capitalize on deposits of oil-bearing shale, so can others replicate this success with different types of oil?
The United States’ success isn’t quite copy and paste. Between private ownership rights ensuring personal gain, specific geological formations leading to huge deposits of oil bearing rock, and technical expertise, the U.S. has flopped the nuts in this game of oil-poker.
There are some others that may have one or even two of these conditions, but there are plenty of obstacles they’ll have to overcome. Argentina is the outlier in all of this, since they have the shale, technical skills, and the government sets oil prices to ensure profitability for operators.