Rigged
One of the most striking things about America’s ongoing fossil fuel boom is that the industry has learned to do more with less.
To get a sense of whether US oil production was likely to rise or fall, you used to be able to look at the number of drilling rigs — the towering steel structures that dig wells and adorn oil-rich regions like the Permian basin in Texas. However, despite the production upswing, the number of crude oil rigs has actually fallen, to about one-third of what it was a decade ago. Advancements in fracking, as well as new “horizontal drilling” techniques — that can spread more than 3 miles underground in one direction — has enabled drillers to increase production without the need for additional rigs.
Independence decade
The “shale revolution" has not only dramatically transformed global oil markets — and made a lot of people a lot of money — it has also shifted the sands that underlie global power structures. Although it would be a gross oversimplification to suggest “America doesn’t need anyone else’s oil or gas”, the fact remains that a thriving energy sector gives American leaders a stronger hand when negotiating on the world stage, as well as the ability to step in for allies when supply from volatile regimes is lost or blocked.
We’d be remiss not to mention the elephant in the room: that global temperatures are breaking records at a tiring pace (chart here), just as America’s fossil fuel sector expands. Indeed, in addition to the emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, fracking itself is also notoriously thirsty work. Energy giants are now drilling not only for oil, but also for the billions of gallons of water they need to frack effectively. Furthermore, on Wednesday a new study published in Nature found that the methane emissions — that are responsible for around one-third of global warming — from US oil and gas producing regions were roughly triple previous government estimates. A change is gonna come, but it’s coming slowly.
